Trade demonstrates Flyers rebuild plans coming together
Depending on what social media outlets you scroll or follow, you saw a lot of people pontificating that the Flyers’ rebuild under Danny Briere was at its homestretch. Nobody was being traded, nobody was going to be moved, what you saw was what you were going to see. Briere was incapable of pulling the trigger on a deal and, somehow, didn’t have the moxie or stones to swing a trade during the season or before the trade deadline. Now that Matvei Michkov was in a Flyers uniform, they were moving forward with this current lineup they had come hell or high water.
Those same people now have to spin themselves dizzy to argue that same idea. The Flyers did make a trade. Danny Briere did something. And outside of Morgan Frost not returning to the Islanders game, nobody probably would’ve suspected the trade was taking place. But the Flyers have dealt Frost and Joel Farabee to the Flames, shedding Farabee’s contract just before its halfway point while giving Frost a new lease on life somewhere else. Some might argue the return wasn’t great and that’s debatable at this point. That’s another argument entirely. Andrei Kuzmenko could hook up with Michkov and there could be magic. Then again, he could be playing out the string in the NHL before deciding to return to Russia and play in the KHL. Jakob Pelletier could turn into a piece of the rebuild. He could end up having a chance with the Flyers the rest of this season and look quite good and a possible fit next season. Nothing is certain.
What is known is Briere acted, something some segment of the Flyers’ fan base still believe or believed he wasn’t capable of doing. So, it’s almost impossible for those who complained about the inertia from the front office to now complain that Briere did something. They might find a way but it doesn’t make it logical or reasonable. It also shows that the rebuild remains in full swing and far from over. The Flyers have Matvei Michkov now, should probably have Jett Luchanko next season, and a decent crop of prospects on the horizon. Throw in the three first-round picks and now four second-round picks the Flyers have in the 2025 Draft, they have a hefty seven of the first 64 picks available this June. To this writer that doesn’t sound like an organization content on what they have and doing nothing to address the situation. Nor is it a team wanting to blow the bank or the farm on an aging center with an anchor of a contract who might help them squeak into the playoffs this season.
Briere plays things close to the vest. He always has, just ask Jamie Drysdale or William Gauthier about that. Nobody knew the trade was taking place. Hell, nobody knew Gauthier didn’t want to start his career with the Flyers, something that wasn’t leaked at all. Just because he doesn’t say things fans often want to hear doesn’t mean he doesn’t have his plans in how to improve the Flyers. “Nothing has changed, it’s still the same for us,” Briere said in his Jan. 21 presser. “If there’s something that makes sense for the future, we’re going to look into it.”
Minutes later Briere was asked about both Frost and Farabee and gave no indication they were on their way out of town. When addressing the topic of Frost, Briere added the Flyers needed to get him going “the first 20, 25 games of the season” but liked the way he was trending and how he played the last 15 to 20 games. The general manager also suggested it was tough to consider trading a center as the Flyers were already pre-trade not deep in that area. At the end of the day, that didn’t stop him from finding a dance partner and making the deal late Thursday evening.
When it came to Farabee, Briere said he played “extremely well” the previous two games but had a “roughly little spell” prior to that. “He’s back to making a lot of subtle little plays that you don’t always see in a game,” he said. “He was doing that early in the season even though he wasn’t maybe getting rewarded with points as much as he would’ve liked. We have to be very careful with a 24-year-old that is still growing and learning the game.” Again, the quotes sounded like Farabee wasn’t bound for anywhere anytime soon.
Later on when asked about the rebuild maybe being accelerated, the general manager said “the future is still the key” when it came to the rebuild and acknowledged it wasn’t easy being patient with the process. But patience can be and is often mistaken for indecision or paralysis by analysis. Briere might be patient. That doesn’t mean he’s scared to do something, whether you agree or not with how that something eventually turns out. The Flyers remain focused on the future and the rebuild. If you wish to argue the Flyers haven’t done anything in the last six hours to help their hockey club, feel free.
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