MELTZER: Briere's Big Legacy

In the penultimate installment of Flyers Hall of Fame Week, Flyers contributor looks at at the case for Danny Briere.
When it came time for the biggest games of the season, no one stood taller for the Philadelphia Flyers than Danny Briere. Belying the canard that under-sized finesse players tend to struggle when the checking gets tight in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Briere proved to be one of the top postseason performers in Flyers franchise history.

Over the course of his six seasons with the Flyers, Briere twice posted 31 or more goals. Three times, he averaged north of 0.85 points per game during the regular season, topping out at 0.911 (72 points in 79 games) in 2007-08. In the playoffs, however, Briere took his game to a whole other level.

"After we signed Danny as a free agent (in 2007), I would say that he met expectations during the regular season and exceeded expectations in the playoffs," Paul Holmgren said to author Jay Greenberg in Flyers at 50.

By any measure, Briere was one of the best playoff performers in Flyers franchise history. In 68 playoff games, he racked up 37 goals (13 power play goals), 35 assists, 72 points (1.06 points per game) and nine game-winning goals.

His performance in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs in particular was extraordinary. Briere played a pivotal role in bringing the Flyers to within two victories of winning the Stanley Cup as he produced 12 goals and 30 points in 23 games. He set a franchise single playoff year scoring record.

Briere also enjoyed excellent playoff runs for the Flyers in 2008 (nine goals and 16 points in 17 games) as the club reached the Eastern Conference Final. In 2012, Briere racked up 13 points in 11 games. Along with Claude Giroux. Briere's play was pivotal in the Flyers' first-round upset of the favored Pittsburgh Penguins. He also notched the overtime goal that won Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New Jersey Devils; shortly after Briere had a would-be game-winning goal disallowed.

From a career playoffs points-per-game standpoint, Briere ranks third in franchise history among all players who appeared in 10 or more playoff games as a Flyer. Only Ken Linseman (1.29) and Eric Lindros (1.16) had higher Flyers points-per-game averages in the postseason.

Note: Peter Forsberg did play in enough postseason games as a Flyer to qualify, but his 1.33 points per game in his lone playoff series with the Flyers (2006 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against Briere's Buffalo Sabres) would rank as the top franchise career playoff points-per-game if the games played qualifier was removed.

For his NHL career, Briere played 973 regular season games (307 goals, 696 points) and 124 playoff games (53 goals, 116 points). His best years were with the Buffalo Sabres and Flyers. After signing with Philadelphia as an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 1997, Briere spent six seasons with the Flyers. For his Philadelphia regular season career, Briere compiled 124 goals and 283 points in 365 regular season games.
During his time with the Flyers, Briere won the Yanick Dupre Memorial Class Guy Award in 2008-09 -- he'd have won every year but the tradition is to spread the award around and avoid repeat winners -- and played in the 2010-11 NHL All-Star Game. Briere also won the Toyota Cup (most three-star selection points) in 2010-11.

Briere's impact went beyond his awards and his pivotal role in the team reaching a Stanley Cup Final and a pair of Eastern Conference Finals. He also became a highly respected dressing room leader and a big part of the local community. In retirement, Briere remained in South Jersey. During his playing days, he accepted young teammates such as Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier into his home in order to help them get acclimated to the NHL. Above all, Briere was the epitome of class and grace: friendly, caring, approachable, and always knowing just the right thing to say.

"One of the nicest men you will ever meet. He showed up and worked hard every day. Never said a bad thing about any of his teammates. He cared about the organization. Did whatever we asked him to do. He was great with the fans. The media guys all liked him. A good dad. Active in the community. He's just a great guy," Holmgren said of Briere in Flyers at 50.

For salary cap reasons, the Flyers bought out the final two seasons of his contract following the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. His cap hit, mounting injuries, advancing age, and relatively modest remaining salaries in the final two years of his frontloaded contract made it a necessary business decision.

Briere has made the Delaware Valley his permanent home. He still works closely with the Flyers organization, serves on the Board of Directors for the Flyers Alumni Association and has been a fixture at the Wells Fargo Center. He remains one of the biggest fan-favorite figures in recent franchise history.

"It starts from the top," Briere said in 2015. "Mr. Snider instilled that from the beginning that once you're a Flyer, you're always a Flyer. I've heard that even before I signed with the Flyers. Everyone knows around the league that he's known as the top or the best owner in sports. So it starts from the top and then it trickles down and you see so many of the players being involved and staying around. It's fun to be a part of that family," Briere said.

Last year during the holiday season, Briere worked jointly with the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation and the Flyers Alumni to establish a "Spend Danny Briere's money" giving program. For every dollar Flyers fan donated to Snider Hockey, Briere made a matching contribution. The Flyers Alumni kicked off the program with a $1,000 contribution, which Danny matched.