Danny Briere’s stock with Flyers fans is climbing fast, and the 2025-26 season gave him another jolt of support.
The clearest sign came after Philadelphia was knocked out of the second round by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes. Instead of a flat ending, Xfinity Mobile Arena turned the Flyers’ Game 4 elimination into a moment of appreciation, with the home crowd giving the team a standing ovation as the players stood in the handshake line. The noise was enough that Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour acknowledged it while talking with Rick Tocchet.
That kind of response tells the story. The Flyers beat expectations, the run created real belief, and Briere’s standing as general manager appears to be rising along with it.
The Athletic’s recent fan survey backs that up. Supporters were asked to grade front offices across several categories - roster building, cap management, draft and development, trading, free agency, and vision - and Briere came out with a B- overall, the same mark he received publicly. That places the Flyers’ front office 15th in the league, a noticeable jump from 19th last year.
Fans were especially positive about the areas that matter most to a contender’s foundation. Cap management, free agency, trading, and vision all landed at B grades.
That lines up with where the Flyers sit financially, and with the way last offseason’s additions of Trevor Zegras and Dan Vladar have worked out. Both players are now tied up on long-term contract extensions.
Drafting and development remains the soft spot, at least in the eyes of the fanbase. There have been bright spots, including Porter Martone’s late-season call-up that helped push the Flyers into the playoffs. But there have also been setbacks, most notably Matvei Michkov struggling to build on a strong rookie season and falling out of favor with Tocchet.
The contrast with a year ago is hard to miss. Last season, the Flyers got a C+ from the public in the same kind of evaluation, while the fanbase gave them a B-.
For Briere, the direction matters as much as the numbers. The Flyers are no longer being viewed as a team stuck in a rebuild. They’ve leaned on young players they drafted to become core pieces, added proven young talent around them, and turned that mix into a playoff team that also picked up a first-round series win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The next leap would change the conversation again. If Philadelphia keeps advancing and eventually reaches and wins the Stanley Cup Finals, Briere and the front office could move right up to or near the top spot currently held by the Hurricanes.
There was also a swing for the fences this offseason. Briere tried to land Leo Carlsson with an offer sheet, but the Anaheim Ducks matched the five-year, $90 million deal instead of taking the four first-round picks.
After that miss, the Flyers appear set to move ahead with the roster as it stands, though things could still change if major names hit the trade deadline. If not, the next big opportunity comes in free agency next summer.
For now, the message from the fanbase is clear: the more playoff wins the Flyers stack up, the more Briere’s approval will keep rising. And if Philadelphia keeps building on this run, he could end up as popular in the executive suite as he once was on the ice.
In Other News...
Flyers Quietly Took A Chance On A Young Scorer With Something To Prove
The Flyers added a little lottery-ticket intrigue to their forward depth by signing Danila Klimovich, a young winger who became available after Vancouver chose not to give him a qualifying offer. Philadelphia is betting on upside here, not immediate help, but there is at least a clear reason for the interest: Rick Tocchet already knows Klimovich from his time with the Canucks, and that familiarity can matter when a club is looking for players who might still have another level to reach.
Klimovich arrives in Philadelphia with some unfinished business and a track record that suggests there is more there than a standard organizational depth add. He has not yet played in the NHL, but he has been a productive scorer in the AHL and the Flyers are open to the idea that he can eventually grow into a useful depth forward at the top level. For a team always looking to find value without spending big, that is the kind of swing worth making. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Quietly Settled Two Final Roster Questions Before Camp
The Flyers have wrapped up their offseason business by bringing back two more players who help fill out the organizational picture heading into training camp. Defenseman Hunter McDonald and forward Nolan Foote were both re-signed, giving Philadelphia a cleaner look at the bottom of the depth chart and leaving fewer loose ends for the front office as summer turns to September.
McDonalds return gives the Flyers another young blue-line option to keep developing, while Foote adds a forward with some versatility to the mix. These are not splashy moves, but they matter at this stage of the calendar, when teams want as much certainty as possible before camp battles begin and every roster spot gets scrutinized. [Read more 🡒]
Ducks Face A Cutter Gauthier Standoff Fans Can No Longer Ignore
The Flyers have already made their presence felt around the league this offseason, and not just through the roster they are trying to build in Philadelphia. Their offer sheet attempt on Leon Carlsson helped jolt the NHL salary market, creating ripple effects far beyond one negotiation and adding another layer of pressure on teams trying to sort out their own business. For a club that has spent plenty of time looking for a clearer path forward, the willingness to get aggressive was a meaningful signal.
It also adds some outside perspective to the Ducks' Cutter Gauthier situation, where a reported contract offer has been turned aside and the noise around the two sides has only grown. Anaheim now has to manage a young player whose next step is no longer feeling routine, and Flyers fans will recognize the wider point here: when one team pushes hard to improve, it can unsettle a lot of the league at once. For Philadelphia, the broader message is simple enough. The market is changing, and the teams trying to keep up are not all in the same spot. [Read more 🡒]