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Flyers GM Briere addresses the media
Flyers general manager Daniel Briere met with the media yesterday for his annual pre-camp “state of the team” press conference. Briere laid out his objectives for the 2025-26 season and beyond. He did not promise the team won’t go into seller mode again near the trade deadline. Rather, he said the hope is that the team will be in the playoff chase. If that’s not the case, he’ll have to consider trade offers as per last season. However, if the team is in the hunt, he won’t be in seller mode.
Back in 2023-24, the Flyers were in playoff position as the trade deadline neared. However, Briere did not feel the organizational rebuild was far enough along (either at the NHL level or system wide) to avoid being sellers. Consequently, the team dealt starting defenseman Sean Walker to Colorado for a first-round pick. Last year, Briere traded longtime team leader Scott Laughton to obtain a first-round pick.
However, Briere does not think the team is currently ready to be buyers, either. He didn’t say so explicitly, but the plan seems to more or less be to evaluate the team under its new coaching staff, and then proceed. The GM will rely on internal player improvements at various positions and see where things are for the longer-term outline. A skeptic would call it a “stand pat” year. However, keep in mind that all but one offseason acquisition/ signing is on an expiring contract this season.
“The toughest part is to be patient, even for me. Sometimes you want to do some moves that can help you right now. I try to remind myself the big goal is to build a team that can sustain that level for years to come,” Briere said.
Injury updates
The most immediately important information Briere presented came right at the start. He provided various injury updates.
- Tyson Foerster: The third-year winger wore a non-contact jersey during a scrimmage on Tuesday. Foerster dealt with an elbow infection over the summer. The player will take a little extra time to get caught up on his gym conditioning because of lost time over the summer. The plan as of now is to remove the non-contact jersey soon and get Foerster involved in preseason games mid-camp.If all goes well, he should be ready for the regular season.
- Jett Luchanko: The 19-year-old center dealt with a groin issue over the summer. As a precaution the Flyers held him out of Rookie Camp and the Rookie Series. He’s expected to be on the ice for Thursday’s practice.
- Rasmus Ristolainen: The big Finnish veteran defenseman underwent surgery in the spring to repair a torn triceps tendon. The word over the summer: he’d miss training camp and the start of the 2025-26 regular season. Briere offered a small update. Ristolainen is skating in a non-contact jersey. He should be ready to return to game action sometime in November. The injury is on the same arm but a different location than his 2023-24 issue. The player is on schedule: not ahead or behind.
- Oliver Bonk: The Flyers held the 20-year-old rookie defenseman out of the Rookie Series. Initially, Bonk panned to play in last Saturday’s game. However, he was not able to go. Per Briere, Bonk has an upper-body issue. He wore a non-contact jersey in a scrimmage on Tuesday.
For more on Briere’s conference and Tuesday’s activities in Voorhees, see Anthony Mingioni’s Five Takeaways and Haley Taylor Simon’s Flyers Pulse. Haley obtainen an exclusive one-on-one interview with Flyers defense prospect Spencer Gill at Tuesday’s Rookie Camp finale.
O&B Puckcast: Special Guest Jason Myrtetus
Last week, Isiah, Chef B, and Dan Silver had me as the guest on their September 10 edition of O&P Puckcast. This week, they have Flyers Daily. host Jason Myrtetus. The panel dives into the Ivan Fedotov trade, and previews Flyers training camp with key positional battles. They recap Rookie Camp and discuss the latest news regarding Carter Hart.
