Flyers announce ‘new era of orange’ with Danny Brière and Keith Jones hires

A “new era of orange” has descended upon Philadelphia.

Or, at least, that’s what the signs and the speakers proclaimed Friday as the five new leaders of the Flyers assembled for the first time together on a stage on the Wells Fargo Center floor.

With the videoboard displaying the new slogan behind them and over 100 people in front of them, Comcast Spectacor CEO Dan Hilferty, president & CEO of Spectacor Sports and Entertainment Valerie Camillo, new Flyers president of hockey operations Keith Jones, new general manager Danny Brière, and coach John Tortorella gathered to share their “bold” new vision and begin a new chapter, one that Hilferty was adamant Comcast Spectacor will see through.

» READ MORE: Flyers name Keith Jones president of hockey operations, Danny Briere general manager

A number of candidates for the president of hockey operations job asked ‘Are the Flyers for sale?’ Hilferty said. “Let me emphatically say, no.”

As he laid out the organization’s plan for the future, Hilferty was quick to address skepticism toward this new era given that Jones and Brière, two former Flyers, will oversee the hockey side of things. They looked for the two best candidates, Hilferty said, and the two best candidates just happened to be former Flyers.

The most important thing for the organization now is “collaboration,” Hilferty harped. It was a word repeated by himself and his colleagues throughout the news conference. He said it was the focus when they built this leadership team, and it will be the key to success.

Everything centered on Tortorella.

When Hilferty was appointed CEO in March, he knew that Tortorella should remain the coach as they built the Flyers’ new leadership structure. He knew he needed to find two people who would collaborate well with Tortorella’s strong personality. He acknowledged that, in some respects, they worked backward from the “original” model of choosing a president who would have influence on who the general manager and coach would be.

Both Hilferty and Camillo said that they wanted to be efficient with the hiring process and get it done. While there wasn’t an exact deadline, the Flyers definitely wanted both the president of hockey ops and general manager roles filled by the draft in June..

Their process was accelerated given Hilferty and Camillo were in agreement that they already had their general manager in Brière. They did not consider anyone else for the position.

“I was part of the discussion to put Danny in as interim,” Hilferty said. “I had gotten to know him. I had a sense that, wow, if we had to make a decision today, he would be our permanent GM.”

For the final piece to the puzzle, president of hockey ops, they consulted current and former players for advice. They also hired a third-party search firm, Modern Executive Solutions, which counts former Sixers GM Billy King as a senior partner. Tortorella and Brière did not have a direct say in the hiring process, according to Hilferty.

The firm not only helped them identify candidates, but it also helped them define what skills, personalties, and temperaments would best fit. The hardest part of using the firm, Hilferty said, was that he didn’t get to every one of the 100-plus candidates Modern identified. He got to talk only to the filtered list.

“But all in all, the process I was very thrilled with it,” Hilferty said.

Hilferty describes Tortorella as patient. He’s a teacher, a leader, and someone committed to doing things the right way. And he’s passionate, Hilferty’s favorite quality.

He called Tortorella the organization’s “spiritual leader” who will continue to manage the bench and develop the day-to-day on-ice product.

Meanwhile, Camillo used the words brilliant, analytical, hard-working, and driven to describe Brière, who will be tasked with building the roster and mapping out the team’s long-term vision.

» READ MORE: Danny Brière’s ‘fire for self-improvement’ has prepared him for his dream job with the Flyers

Brière might not have NHL general manager experience, but Camillo emphasized the eight years he has spent working with the Flyers’ front office. Add in his experience as a player, and they feel he has in-depth knowledge to push this team into the NHL’s new era.

The final person in the new hockey operations trio is Jones, the president. When it comes to working in a front office, he has zero formal experience. In fact, he had never considered transitioning into such a role.

However, when the Flyers presented him with the opportunity, his immediate reaction was yes, he was interested. As Jones went through a long, exhaustive interview process, his name was not leaked until the very end. He said that was extremely important to him in case he didn’t get the job because he didn’t want to be seen as the guy who “was trying to get other people’s jobs.” His closest friends didn’t know about it. Only his wife and daughter were consulted.

As the Flyers evaluated Jones, Camillo said they were drawn to the fact that he is beloved and well respected in the hockey community. He has the ability to get along with people (key in a trio with the different temperaments of Brière and Tortorella) and also has a “great, smart hockey mind.” Jones’ relationships and familiarity around the league as a national broadcaster were also attractive to the Flyers.

When asked about Jones’s inexperience, Hilferty replied that he, himself, is inexperienced in his role leading a sports franchise.

“For me, it was about finding that person, the third part of that triumvirate that will make the collective more successful,” Hilferty said. “And I would say in that regard, I never considered what the job was before. I just considered what the three together could do.”

This is a rebuild. Brière stated back in March as interim general manager. Friday, Camillo reiterated that point, saying “[Brière] is ready to rebuild this team into a contender,” with emphasis on the word rebuild.

While it’s going to be a process, Hilferty promised that the Flyers will be transparent through it.

“This will not be perfect,” Hilferty said. “No human organism is perfect. It will take time. So be patient with us. But know that our goal is singular, to deliver a championship or more and to be the envy of the NHL.”

To get there, Hilferty and Camillo are well aware the Flyers will have to adapt to the modern game. To them, that means they need “speed, power, and strategy like never before.” They believe Jones, Brière, and Tortorella understand what it takes to develop that.

If it’s going to take time, how will they be sure they’re headed in the right direction? Hilferty said that his “barometer for success will be just making sure that we continue to work as a team.” He plans for them to be calculated and measured as they keep taking steps forward.

Ultimately, the goal is for the Flyers to be a team that players want to sign with, for the Wells Fargo Center to be a place teams fear playing in. And most important, an organization that former owner Ed Snider would have pride in.

“The Philadelphia Flyers are coming back,” Jones proclaimed.

Only time will tell if he is right.