Sportsnet 590 The FAN: Philadelphia Flyers GM Daniel Briere on the Jeff Marek Show on where the Flyers are and if they could be buyers at the trade deadline if they are in the playoff race.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Marek: “You mentioned off the top that the players will decide, you know how deep of a rebuild this is? Will the players also decide what you do at trade deadline?
Now I do wonder about this. Like trade deadline comes the Philadelphia Flyers are still in the playoff picture. Another general manager says, you know, I’ve got a whopper of an offer for you here for players who might be on expiring contracts. Like it’s a tough situation on one hand or maybe it’s not.
Like where’s your mind at on where this team is? And if it’s in the same spot at trade deadline, what goes through your mind?”
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Briere: “Well, I mean, first of all, you know, you have to keep it realistic. This is really nice, and there’s a long way to go before the trade deadline. So we’ll see how things have gone. It’s, it’s great that we’ve been, put ourselves in a situation where we can play meaningful hockey games. It’s tough when, you know, two months into the season, you already know you’re not going to make the playoffs.
So for the development of our players or the culture that we’re trying to bring in, this is fantastic. So our guys are already going to learn a lot. And we’re going to learn a lot about our players do in the next couple months or three months before the trade deadline.
So a lot can happen. You know, we’re going to be smart about it. We’re still going to get, keep a look towards the future. You know, I said it from the get go, what we’re trying to do is not have a team that has a chance to make the playoffs one year and miss the playoffs the next. Our goal is to produce a, a contender that has a chance to win the Stanley Cup year after year.
I’m not sure we’re there. I know we’re not there yet. So I’m not going to try to fool anyone into thinking that we’re winning the Stanley Cup this year. You know so we have a long way to go towards that though.
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I don’t think we’re going to be buyers. But time will tell in which direction or what happens as we near the trade deadline. It’s a little too early to tell that.”