Danny Brière discusses rebuild timeline, key veterans’ futures, and more in his exit interview

With the Flyers’ season officially in the rearview mirror, the rebuild that interim general manager Danny Brière called for upon his promotion in March can finally get underway.

But for now, don’t expect him to put a timeline on it.

During his exit interview Monday, Brière declined to estimate how long the process will take, citing a key variable that will determine how quickly the Flyers can get back into contention. He mentioned the sense of excitement the organization felt from the growth several young players showed in their individual games. However, he acknowledged that there is always a chance of regression for those players, giving him pause for setting a concrete timeframe.

» READ MORE: John Tortorella spent this season testing his players. Not everyone responded to his liking.

“I want to be careful,” Brière said. “I don’t know exactly where we’re at in the process. So that’s why I wish I could give you a timeline. But I’d be lying to you. I don’t know if it’s two years or five years or eight years. I really don’t know at this point.”

What Brière does know, however, is that he won’t be the only one with input on personnel decisions as the Flyers look to reshape the roster this offseason. Coach John Tortorella “bought in” to Brière’s vision for a rebuild and, along with Brière and a still unhired president of hockey operations, will be a part of the group that will look at what is best for the organization in the long term.

In five games at the end of the season, Tortorella opted not to coach behind the bench. Instead, for at least one game, he sat upstairs alongside Brière to discuss personnel and the team’s style of play. Brière said that he values the insight that the coaches can share, including their up-close interactions with players and viewpoints of the game.

“We’re all going to be involved,” Brière said. “It’s not going to be just a one-man show making all the decisions or two people making all the decisions. It’s going to be a group of people. There’s some really good information that we can get from the coaching staff.”

Winger Travis Konecny is coming off a stellar season, posting a career-high 31 goals, and averaging over a point per game. At 26 years old, Konecny has two more years remaining on his contract ($5.5 million average annual value) and will likely be due for a raise on his next deal.

Now, the rebuilding Flyers are at a crossroads with Konecny — do they sell high on a player who might not fit the timeline of their rebuild, or do they view him as young enough to continue to build around?

» READ MORE: Kevin Hayes awaits his future, Flyers anticipate other key veterans returning next season

When asked about how Konecny fits into the Flyers’ future, Brière stressed his importance to the team. He said that he’s been impressed with Konecny’s leadership on the ice from an offensive perspective, taking over for departed veterans such as Jake Voracek and Claude Giroux. Brière said he views Konecny as a top-line player who has thrived with more responsibility this season.

“We use the ‘under 25,’ it’s a little bit of a loose term,” Brière said. “He’s right there on the cusp. I think he’s an important member moving forward. I’ve been really, really impressed with him, how this year he kind of took over.”

Then, there’s soon-to-be 31-year-old Kevin Hayes, who posted one of the best seasons of his career from a production standpoint (18 goals and 36 assists in 81 games) and made the All-Star team. However, he saw his minutes and role decrease as the season wore on and the organization pivoted to giving more opportunities to younger players.

Brière said that Hayes “has a lot of value” as a productive 6-foot-5 center and that plenty of teams would love to have players like him. But Brière added that it’s “too early” to jump to conclusions about Hayes’ future.

“We’ll figure [out] what needs to be done with Kevin, if he’s here or somewhere else. But I hope, at the moment, he’s our property,” Brière said. “He’s part of our team. And we are assuming that he’s going to be part of the team next year. We’ll see as the summer develops if there’s different opportunities there.”

Meanwhile, 27-year-old defenseman Tony DeAngelo finished the season on a low note as a healthy scratch for the final five games. Brière acknowledged that DeAngelo had an “up-and-down season,” posting solid numbers offensively (42 points in 70 games) while being inconsistent defensively (minus-27, seventh-worst among NHL defensemen).

Brière declined to comment on the reasoning behind DeAngelo getting scratched at the end of the season. However, he said that this offseason is going to be “big” for DeAngelo as he looks to get back in Tortorella’s good graces going into training camp.

“As of right now, he’s part of the team and I plan on bringing him back,” Brière said. “We’ll see where that goes. But it’s definitely not a fun situation at the moment for him, the way things ended.”

Leading into next season, Brière expects plenty of prospects to make a push for the opening-night roster. In his brief audition with the Flyers this season, winger Tyson Foerster grabbed Brière’s attention, posting three goals and four assists in eight games. Forward Elliot Desnoyers also impressed despite not posting any points in four games.

Brière noted that forward Olle Lycksell wasn’t as successful in his eight-game NHL stint, but he’s had a strong season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (14 goals, 31 assists in 53 games). Plus, there are plenty of defensemen who are knocking on the door, including Egor Zamula, Ronnie Attard, Adam Ginning, and Emil Andrae. Samuel Ersson shined in goal, winning his first six NHL decisions and showing tremendous poise.

“It’s going to depend on camp, who performs well at camp, who looks good,” Brière said. “And if a guy deserves to be here, we’ll find a way to make room for him.”

One player who won’t be making a push for the roster next season is 2022 No. 5 overall pick Cutter Gauthier, who opted to return to Boston College for his sophomore season. Brière said that he had a discussion with Gauthier, his family, and his advisor, and Gauthier ultimately decided that it would be best to return to BC. Brière fully supports Gauthier’s choice.

» READ MORE: Flyers’ Cam Atkinson is eager ‘to be part of the solution’ next season after missing 2022-23 due to neck surgery

“I think it’s going to give him the chance to hopefully be even more dominant than he was this year,” Brière said. “Another year of World Juniors. I’m really excited about [that]. We’re going to get a bigger, better, faster, more mature Cutter Gauthier the following year.”

Additionally, Brière announced that the organization will not be signing 2018 first-round pick Jay O’Brien to an entry-level contract. O’Brien, who spent the last three seasons at Boston University, will become a free agent. The Flyers will receive a compensatory second-round pick, but Brière said he does not know yet if the selection will come in the 2023 draft or in 2024.