The Philadelphia Flyers are making changes as the organization announced they have released Chuck Fletcher from his duties as President of Hockey Operations and General Manager.
In addition, the Flyers announced that Daniel Briere, currently serving as a Special Assistant to General Manager, has been named interim General Manager.
OFFICIAL: The Flyers have released Chuck Fletcher from his duties as President of Hockey Operations and General Manager. Daniel Brière, currently serving as Special Assistant to the General Manager, has been named Interim General Manager. https://t.co/xALLfVcFnh
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 10, 2023
The Flyers in their announcement said they will be making the President of Hockey Operations and General Manager two separate positions as they restructure their Hockey Operations department.
As the Flyers noted in their press release, they'll be hiring 2 separate positions: a President of Hockey Operations and a General Manager.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) March 10, 2023
Dave Scott, Chairman of Comcast Spectacor and Governor of the Philadelphia Flyers, issued the following statement:
“This morning, we released Chuck Fletcher from his President and General Manager responsibilities. We are grateful for his hard work and dedication to this organization, and we wish him nothing but the best moving forward. Chuck faced significant challenges during his time as President and General Manager, including some that were outside of his control, but we have reached a point at which we must move in a different direction and look to the future under new leadership.
Flyers fans deserve a better team than what they’ve seen on the ice over the past few seasons, and a clear plan to return this team to Stanley Cup contention. We know that this will be a multi-year process, and we are committed to doing it right because we want to put this franchise on a path toward winning the Stanley Cup, period.”
The winds of change were in the air starting Wednesday, March 8th as Anthony DiMarco of the Fourth Period reported.
Things started to pick up late on Thursday night and early into Friday morning
Hearing that big changes are coming in the #Flyers front office.#fueledbyphilly
— Anthony Di Marco (@ADiMarco25) March 10, 2023
Things are definitely moving in Philadelphia. Not 100% sure where it’s heading but today could be a big day for the Flyers.
— Jeff Marek (@JeffMarek) March 10, 2023
Per a source, no more changes in the front office are likely to occur today. But expect more to come in the near future. The department of hockey operations will be significantly restructured in the coming days, weeks, and months.
— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) March 10, 2023
There were a lot of things that led to the demise of Fletcher in Philadelphia. The biggest was the lacklustre trade deadline where the former Flyers GM could not move James van Riemsdyk.
NHL Rumors: Philadelphia Flyers – van Riemsdyk, Hayes, Konecny, and Tortorella
Van Riemsdyk was the subject of trade talks going back to the summer when Fletcher did not want to give up a first-round pick to the Arizona Coyotes along with the players to open up cap space to sign Johnny Gaudreau.
The Flyers since making the playoffs and being one of the hottest teams before the season stopped in March of 2020 have not gotten back to form. Fletcher claimed this team would be competitive, but changed his tune at the deadline saying the Flyers would-be sellers. Unfortunately, Fletcher did not make any moves to justify that statement.
In addition, at a season ticket holder event, Fletcher spoke about how the Flyers were analyzing trades that were probably the last straw.
At a season ticket holder town hall, Flyers President Chuck Fletcher touted an app that helps the team decide if a trade proposal is “fair trade or not fair trade.” Remember all those people who told you to stop acting like you’re playing GM mode? The Flyers are! #FueledByPhilly pic.twitter.com/PH5cVe8w6O
— Russ Joy (@JoyOnBroad) March 9, 2023