After a first postseason appearance in five years and a captivating surge to the second round of the NHL playoffs, Flyers hockey returns Wednesday night with the Orange and Black hosting the rival Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2026-27 lid-lifter at Xfinity Mobile Arena (7:30 p.m., TNT, HBO MAX, and TruTV).
Increased success brings increased expectations, and general manager Danny Brière has been the first to caution his young players that it only gets harder the second time around.
On the eve of the Flyers’ opener, Brière sat down with The Inquirer to chat about the momentum around the Flyers, some of his top young players, and much more.
Q: Why were you comfortable running it back with basically the same roster, especially with increased competition expected?
A: We have a young team that took a big step last year. You want to see how far they can take it. I think the players also earned it; they took a big step. I mean, it’s not like we didn’t try to improve the team. You’re always looking. You want to help take that next step. We did, but it just didn’t work out. There’s other things that were in the books. But at the same time, I know fans love to see trades, but I’m not going to make trades just to make trades. It has to make sense. We’ve worked hard building the culture around here. We have a group of young men that bought into that, and we’re not just going to dismantle that just to please the few fans that just think we’re playing fantasy hockey.
The goal is to improve the team, and we think we did that. Maybe not at the top, first line or first pairing, but I think Joseph Woll is going to be a huge addition to our team. I think Simon Benoit and Noel Acciari will bring us a lot of depth. You look at last year, starting the year, our fourth line was putting us in a tough spot at times. I think now we have a fourth line that’s much closer to the other three; whoever you want to use as the fourth line. So to me, I think we’ve improved the team. But like I’ve said [previously], I’m worried. I’m worried all the time about some of our young guys, especially, thinking that they’ve made it. Every team is trying to improve, and we’re still looking to improve if we have the chance.
Q: Do you look at what other teams in the Metropolitan Division are doing, and does that put any added pressure on you?
A: No, I don’t see it as pressure. You see it as OK, every trade brings in some kind of comparison to other trades. So that’s why we’re always looking at it to see, OK, what’s a fair value now if we’re talking about this guy vs. that guy and what they did? So, yeah, we’re keeping a close eye on everything that [teams are] doing, but I don’t try to make trades to compete with the other GMs. I make trades to improve our team.
I don’t see it as a competition vs. the other GMs; it’s a competition as far as on the ice. The goal is not who makes the most trades; it’s winning. You look at a team like Carolina, they’ve been pretty steady, and they’ve given the chance to their young guys to take the next step. I know it’s not always sexy, but you have to be careful with what you have sometimes. You don’t realize, and one day you wake up and they’re better elsewhere, and you’ve missed. But there’s also a case sometimes where prospects need a fresh start, and they need to go somewhere else to expand their game. So we’re aware of that, too.
Q: You said Saturday that David Jiříček’s camp was ‘OK.’ Are his defensive warts maybe more pronounced than you first thought?
A: No. We’re working with David. We’re going to try to help him. He’s working, he’s trying, and he’s still a young guy. He’s going to make mistakes. Yes, after I had my comments, he had a tough second half of the game [Saturday], and that’s going to happen. It’s going to happen with young guys. It doesn’t change what we think of them. We just have to keep working with him and try to build him up. It’s been a rough go for him the last few years, bouncing around a lot, new systems, new coaches, new teammates. So we’re going to keep working with him.
Q: It seems like Matvei Michkov’s whole mentality has changed. Take us through your first meeting with him this season, and what are your expectations for him?
A: I was really pleased with the way he showed up, the work he put in this summer. It really stood out when you saw him on the ice. It stood out when you saw him in street clothes. He really put in the work, and I’m really pleased with the fact that he’s trying to speak more English. He spoke to you guys [the media] here, in English without a translator; that’s a huge step. And I think it’s all part of it, right?
He feels better about himself. He’s more confident. He’s trying to close the gap with you guys [the media], close the gap with his teammates, and in return, he’s going to feel more confident on the ice. So I think it’s all part of the development that we see in young guys, and everybody has a different path. Not too many players go through what he had to go through in his short career. He’s been through so much already. We don’t have a template to prepare someone to go through what he has gone through. So we’re trying to stay cognizant of that, and again, working with him and realizing everybody has a different path.
Q: With Rasmus Ristolainen’s age and contract situation, if the team is in contention, would you be comfortable keeping him and then potentially losing him for nothing?
A: Yes, absolutely, because part of the reason is the protection he gives our young guys, and I’ve said that before. And I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s too early, and so many things can go different ways, but yeah, if we’re in a playoff spot at the deadline, it’s something we have to consider as well. The value of protecting our players, our young players, might be greater than acquiring a future asset. But maybe not, and that’s something that we’ll evaluate as we get closer.
Q: With LeBron James choosing the Sixers, does it have any impact on the Flyers? And do you think having the NBA’s biggest star choosing Philadelphia can help you lure big stars too at some point?
A: That’s a good question. I think it shows, and you look at all four major sports in the city, they’re all very competitive teams. They want to win, and they’re willing to do whatever it takes to win. LeBron signing here, I think it shows that Philadelphia is a sports hub. So I think it’s good for the other three major sports to have a superstar-level player come in to Philadelphia like that. So I think it’s a good thing.
Q: Is there someone who was a big surprise for you at camp?
A: Matvei, the way he showed up. I was very pleased last year with a lot of guys — Dan Vladař to start with. I hope Woll can come in and play at a similar level as he does to have one of the best tandems in the league. I thought Jamie Drysdale took a huge step last year; that was good. Even Cam York, I thought, was a much better all-around defenseman last year than he was the year before, so that pairing was a big reason why we took the step that we did last year as well.
Q: What’s your message to guys like Cole Knuble and Oliver Bonk, who look so ready for the NHL, but were sort of victims to the numbers game?
A: Keep pushing the envelope. We told them, and everybody knows, the short camp has kind of played against them. That’s what it does; it protects the veteran better. But we’re not going to stop evaluating because the season starts. We’re going to keep watching them.
The other message to them and Jett Luchanko was, I don’t think it does any good to keep them in a sheltered role here at this point in their career. We felt it’s better for them to have the chance to play heavy minutes, play against the other team’s top lines, play on the PP, play on the PK, touch every situation. For Jett and Cole, they’re starting their pro career. Oliver has one year under his belt, but he was injured for the first, I think, two months of the season. So I think they’re in a great spot. They’re getting closer to being ready, but they still have a lot to learn, and I don’t feel it’s going to hurt them to spend a little bit of time in the minors.
Q: What is your overall message to the fan base heading into the year?
A: We feel we’re still going in the right direction. We’re still building. They have an exciting team in front of them. Now, I don’t know exactly where it’s going to go, and that’s what happens with a young team. We’re still a young team, but I really feel they have an exciting team that they’re seeing develop right in front of their eyes.
