Those are fair points, but I think Briere has shown us the Flyers still have a fatal flaw, and he (and Jones) are likely nothing more than a loveable face to the same ugly extension of past Flyers regimes that left us puzzled, angry, then apathetic.
The Michkov pick was Danny's first test and he aced it with flying colors. On draft night, as Michkov was dropping, the part of me still slathered with the stench of Flyers draft failures believed that they would pass on him and draft Leonard. When they didn't I was stunned. Maybe Briere was different after all.
Then he passed on Perreault for Bonk. Is it turning out to be the worst decision? No. To your point, Bonk has seen his stock rise in his D+1. But, so did Perreault, who has turned into one of the elite forward prospects on the planet, blessed with high-end, jaw-dropping talent. The Bonk pick was followed by the selection of 325 goalies and Mike Knuble's kid (a classic, throwback Holmgren move). Barkey appears to be an excellent value pick, so Briere deserves credit... although part of me wonders, if that was more of a "broken clock, is right twice a day" scenario considering the Flyers went back to their old, familiar draft stomping grounds -- London. The cynic in me wonders if Barkey didn't dress for London, would the Flyers have considered him? I honestly don't think so, but whatever.
Then the Gauthier trade. I still don't hate that trade as much as most but your point is valid -- it was terrible asset management, especially after seeing what Buffalo paid for Byram. The rest of the year was bitter-sweet but one thing was clear -- the Flyers sold the fans a bill of goods, re: "We're going to stink and rebuild the right way."
While you can never tell the coaches and players, "You need to lose on purpose", there are no valid excuses why Briere didn't deal Laughton and Walker (at the very least) the minute the Flyers started stringing wins together and climbing the standings. Laughton, gone. Walker, gone. Is a team willing to overpay for Konecny? Gone. Farabee doesn't like it here? Gone. Any player who is not going to be at their peak level when Michkov is a monster at 22, gone. Briere's only job was to ensure the Flyers stink so bad, their consolation prize at 2 is Ivan Demidov. Period. If we're being brutally honest, the way Briere managed the in-season last year was borderline horrific. I couldn't care less that they finally squeezed a nice asset out of Walker. He already contributed to the damage and guaranteed the Flyers drafted outside the top 3 or 5. That blame directly falls on the shoulders of Briere. Not moving Laughton at the deadline for very good assets should be a fireable offense, if we're being honest. If that was Fletcher instead of Briere, fans would have become unglued.
All of that said, this offseason has been the biggest disappointment so far, starting with the lame attempts to move up in the draft. Briere wasn't fooling anyone and neither were the silly Flyers bloggers and YouTubers who ran wild with rumors of moving up to 7, let alone 4. It was a week's worth of comedy leading up to the draft.
Then -- and here's where we disagree -- I think passing on Buium for Luchanko was an unforgivable sin that will ultimately haunt Briere for decades unless Luchanko brokers his soul, defies all logic and reasoning, and emerges into the next Nate MacKinnon. Yes, I think Buium will be that good.
Not only was Buium dropping into the Flyers' lap a gift, but it was the ultimate lifeline for Briere to redeem himself for not maneuvering the Flyers into the position to draft Top-5. Despite the screw-up, one of the top D (in a D-heavy draft) was there for the taking and Briere doubled down on the screw-job and reached for a "safe" centerman who scored 20 goals in his OHL draft year. It's almost as if the hockey gods were gifting the Flyers Michkov and Buium in consecutive years. And, instead of running up to the podium smiling like the Joker, Briere chose to flagellate himself like Silas in the Da Vinci Code right in front of Tony Luke's.
In no way was passing on Buium at 12 the smart choice, especially for a reach pick. And, if the Flyers had a 20-goal scoring center like Luchanko ranked on par with a kid who shattered the offensive records of 3 of the last 4 Norris winners in the same program at the same age, then the Flyers could be the most flawed evaluators of talent in professional sports. I also don't care what other teams did. Many NHL GMs make foolish decisions often. That doesn't mean the Flyers have to. Especially during a "major rebuild" where the only goal is to collect as much elite talent as possible, not well-rounded and safe players who "play the game the right way."
I will never be convinced passing on Buium was a wise choice, especially on June 28, 2024. There is zero analytical data, projections, scouting reports, or reputable rankings that suggest Luchanko held more value or was more talented than Zeev Buium. This was a flawed tunnel vision selection made by a GM and club who built their legacy of failures on the back of thinking they were the smartest executives in the room.
And now, what will Briere do? The Flyers are entering the most important second year of their infamous "rebuild" and smart money has Briere positioning the Flyers to miss out on franchise-altering talent like Hagens while extending Konecny to a significant overpay in both term and cap hit. But, if we're lucky at this point, Danny might trade Laughton at the deadline after he's helped contribute to 3-4 unwarranted, meaningless wins in February that move the team back 4 slots in the draft to pick 10 or so. Then again, after seeing the Flyers post a pic of Laughton spooning Gritty on social yesterday, his new 8-year extension is likely being inked as we speak.
