The Philadelphia Flyers have spent the offseason looking for new leaders in the front office. Now, those searches have come to an end, and the team is moving forward with their major hires.
The Flyers are removing the “interim” tag from general manager Daniel Briere, according to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman. Additionally, the team is hiring Keith Jones as their new president of hockey operations.
The move regarding Briere is not entirely surprising. Briere received a promotion after the Flyers fired general manager Chuck Fletcher following the NHL trade deadline in March.
Briere is a former player and spent six seasons as a member of the Flyers. He scored 124 goals and 283 points with Philadelphia and helped lead the team to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals.
Before being named interim general manager, Briere had some experience in the front office. He ran day-to-day operations for the ECHL's Maine Mariners before officially joining the Flyers front office partway through the 2021-22 season.
The addition of Jones, however, is a bit of a surprise. Like Briere, Jones is a former player and did suit up for Philadelphia during his playing days. Jones played 491 career NHL games and played in Philadelphia from 1998 to 2001.
Unlike Briere, however, Jones has no experience in hockey management. He hasn't held a single role within a front office and has no experience as a coach. Following his retirement, the 54-year-old Jones made a career for himself in radio and television.
Jones served as a studio analyst for NBC Sports Network, and a color commentator for NBC Sports Philadelphia. During this season's Stanley Cup Playoffs, he has worked as a studio analyst for TNT.
Hiring Jones certainly brings with it a certain level of risk for the Flyers. Only time will tell if their gamble will pay off.
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