No risk, no reward.
Ever since the offseason began for their franchise, the Philadelphia Flyers have been looking for fresh blood to run their front office. Now, their searching has come to an end, with the team deciding on both their general manager and president of hockey operations positions.
Philadelphia has decided to remove the “interim” label from Daniel Briere, who will now be the team’s permanent general manager, according to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman. In another front office move (that came as a bit of a shock to some), the Flyers are also bringing in Keith Jones to be their new president of hockey operations.
Briere becoming the permanent GM isn’t a surprising move from Philly. Receiving a promotion after the Flyers fired Chuck Fletcher from his post back in March, Briere is a former NHL player who was with Philadelphia for six seasons, scoring 124 goals and racking up 283 points with the franchise. On top of that, he helped lead the franchise to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. Also having some previous front office experience with the ECHL’s Maine Mariners running the day-to-day operations and obviously as interim GM of the Flyers, it was a pretty easy decision for Philly to make.
But the Keith Jones hire is a bit stunning. Yeah, Jones used to be a former player like Briere (also playing for the Flyers from 1998-2001), but he doesn’t have a single piece of experience in running a hockey team. After his retirement, he did some television and radio, but when it comes to coaching or front office experience, it’s non-existent.
Hearing that tomorrow morning, PHI will announce Keith Jones as President of Hockey Operations and officially drop the “interim” tag from Daniel Briere’s GM role. Jones played 491 NHL games, the final 131 with the Flyers.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) May 11, 2023
But like I said … no risk, no reward. (RELATED: Los Angeles, Miami, New York City Among Best Cities For Basketball Fans; Daytona Beach, Austin Among Worst)
Let’s see how the gamble pays off for the Philadelphia Flyers.