Flyers to honor Briere early in season
The Flyers will honor fan favorite Danny Briere before their Oct. 27 home game against Buffalo.
Briere, 37, announced his retirement Monday, ending a superb 17-year career that had stops with Phoenix, Buffalo, the Flyers, Montreal and Colorado.
One of the NHL's best playoff performers during his career, Briere signed with the Flyers as a free agent in 2007, and he helped orchestrate a revival.
"It was a huge decision when I decided to join (the Flyers)," Briere said during a farewell news conference Tuesday at the Flyers' training facility in Voorhees. "I've always felt like it was the right decision. I felt at home all this time here. The relationship with the organization, the staff, my teammates, the fans here, has been amazing. Like I said, I come back here in my off-seasons; they've been spent here the last couple years. It's home to our family."
When Briere agreed to sign with the Flyers, "we were high-fiving pretty much that day, once we got word Danny was heading our way," said club president Paul Holmgren, who was general manager at the time of the signing. "We were extremely excited. Thinking back, [Scott] Gomez was an option, [Chris] Drury was an option, and the guy we spent most of our time on was Danny.
"I remember when he came in a few days later, he sat in my office and he thanked me, and I think I said, 'No, thank YOU for coming.' Remember, the year before was a tough year for the Flyers. I think signing Danny that day back in 2007 kind of turned things around for us almost immediately heading into that next season. It was a huge day."
The Flyers went 22-48-12 and had an NHL-worst 56 points the year before Briere arrived. The next season, with several additions on their roster, they went 42-29-11 for 95 points and reached the conference finals.
Two seasons later, with Briere setting a franchise record by amassing 30 playoff points in 23 games, they reached the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals.
In short, the little guy always saved his best for the big games. That's why Oct. 27 figures to be an emotional return for Mr. Post-Season.
Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.