The Philadelphia Flyers fired president of hockey operations and general manager Chuck Fletcher on Friday.
Why was he fired? Who are the top candidates to take his place? And what should be the short- and long-term plans to get the team back on track?
Here’s the current and future state of the Flyers:
Why was Chuck Fletcher let go?
Fletcher was hired in Dec. 2018 to take the team to the next level. Former GM Ron Hextall had populated the roster with young talent. Fletcher, a former GM of the Minnesota Wild, was tasked with doing what was necessary to transform the team into a Stanley Cup contender.
“Chuck has earned success throughout his impressive NHL career and offers the right mix of expertise, business acumen and leadership qualities that the Flyers need today as we work to achieve our ultimate goal, the Stanley Cup championship,” Dave Scott, chairman and CEO of Comcast Spectacor and Flyers governor, said at the time.
Instead of the Stanley Cup, the Flyers had just one playoff appearance in Fletcher’s tenure, making the second round in 2020 during the pandemic bubble playoffs.
How much of that lack of success was Fletcher’s fault? It’s reasonable to debate. Scott even mentioned “challenges” in his comments announcing Fletcher’s firing.
“Chuck faced significant challenges during his time as president and general manager, including some that were outside of his control, but we have reached a point at which we must move in a different direction and look to the future under new leadership,” Scott said.
He’s not wrong:
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Nolan Patrick, the 2017 No. 2 overall pick, was a bust because of injuries and other ailments before being traded.
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Players like Selke Trophy winner Sean Couturier were also slowed by injuries.
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Forward Oskar Lindblom was diagnosed with cancer.
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Key defenseman Matt Niskanen surprised the team by retiring in 2020.
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Ryan Ellis, the defenseman Fletcher acquired from Nashville to basically replace Niskanen, has played just four games with the Flyers since arriving in July 2021.
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Goalie Carter Hart went from building a Vezina Trophy case to rebuilding his game back to respectability during Fletcher’s tenure.
Every button Fletcher pushed seemed to malfunction. Meanwhile, powerful voices within the organization were encouraging the team to make moves that also haven’t panned out, like long-term contracts to some veteran players.
That’s not to excuse Fletcher. One playoff appearance is unacceptable and the current state of the team is shambolic. Sources told ESPN that Fletcher was close to being fired last November. Instead, he was sent packing after a trade deadline where the Flyers did little to improve their team.
In fact, the biggest news for the Flyers at the deadline was a move they didn’t make. Fletcher had to swallow his pride and explain how a trade with Detroit for popular veteran winger James van Riemsdyk fell through — and how he was unable to create a market for the pending free agent beyond one team.
It begs the question: Why was Fletcher allowed to manage that deadline to begin with, given his tenuous status? Especially since he was fired just one week later.
Who are the candidates to become the new Flyers GM?
After firing Fletcher, the Flyers announced Daniel Briere as interim general manager while the team begins restructuring its hockey operations department. Briere had been the special assistant to the general manager.
The Flyers also announced a significant change to their hierarchy on Friday: They’re splitting the roles of president of hockey operations and general manager.
“We view this as a critical opportunity to not only reestablish the standard of excellence that our fans expect, but also to bring new energy, accountability and strategic vision to our organization,” Scott said.
Briere, 45, is obviously at the top of the watch list for the GM opening.
The former NHL All-Star center joined the Flyers last season as a special assistant to the general manager. Before that, he ran the day-to-day operations of the ECHL Maine Mariners, a team the Flyers had purchased. Briere was a finalist for the Montreal Canadiens‘ GM job that eventually went to Kent Hughes.
Multiple sources told ESPN they believe the job could be Briere’s to lose during this interim period.
If it’s not Briere, other candidates could include Ray Whitney, the former NHL forward who is currently a member of the league’s department of player safety. He was a finalist for the opening in San Jose last summer. Ray Shero, the former Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils general manager, is currently an adviser with the Wild. There’s big-time name recognition there: His father, Fred Shero, coached the Flyers to their only two Stanley Cup wins in 1974 and 1975.
Other recent general manager candidates have included former Canucks boss Mike Gillis, who had been in the conversation for new NHLPA executive director; former Toronto GM Dave Nonis; and Tampa Bay director of hockey operations Mathieu Darche.
Other possibilities include two currently with the Calgary Flames: Assistant GM Brad Pascall, who is seen as a rising star in some circles; and GM Brad Treliving, who has an expiring contract while the Flames are in danger of missing the playoffs.
Typically, a president of hockey operations job gets filled before a general manager is named, such as when the Vancouver Canucks hired Jim Rutherford before he hired GM Patrik Allvin. But the Flyers could very well hire their general manager before they hire a president of hockey operations, given that Briere has the inside track.
With Briere in the driver’s seat for general manager, the mystery might be who serves as the team’s president of hockey operations. While Briere reportedly has a good relationship with the business side of the Flyers, he might want a liaison to manage those relationships. Hence, that role could be less “top of the hockey operations pyramid” than someone overseeing the totality of the organization.
Two names to keep in mind: Angela Ruggiero, former U.S. Olympic hockey player and Hockey Hall of Famer; and ESPN hockey analyst Kevin Weekes, who has been in the mix for several NHL managerial roles. Either could also be a front-facing voice for the hockey operations department as Briere (or another GM) digs into the organization.
Of course, a president of hockey ops and a general manager also typically like to hire their own coach, too. But coach John Tortorella was hired last offseason and is signed through the 2025-26 season at a reported $4 million annually. Whoever takes over the Flyers inherits Tortorella. It’s as much his team as anyone’s.
What’s the short-term plan for the Flyers?
From a roster standpoint, let’s start with the good news: The Flyers have their own first-round draft pick and have just under a 7% chance of securing the first or second overall pick in the lottery. With centers Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli at the top of that draft, their fingers will be crossed and good luck charms will be clutched.
Now the bad news: The roster needs a major makeover.
As Tortorella said in December: “This team needs to be built and it needs to be built from the footers. We’re not even in the foundation. We’re in the footer position as far as I’m concerned, just to try to build this foundation the proper way.”
They have only three unrestricted free agents in van Riemsdyk, defenseman Justin Braun and winger Brendan Lemieux. For a team that’ll miss the playoffs for a third straight season, they have far too many veteran players on far too many long-term contracts: center Kevin Hayes ($7,142,857 average annual value through 2025-26), defenseman Ivan Provorov ($6.75 million AAV through 2024-25), defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen ($5.1 million AAV through 2026-27), winger Cam Atkinson ($5.875 million AAV through 2024-25) and winger Travis Konecny ($5.5 million AAV through 2024-25) among them.
Whoever takes over will have to find ways to aggressively remake this roster that Fletcher couldn’t execute.
“We know that this will be a multiyear process, and we are committed to doing it right, because we want to put this franchise on a path toward winning the Stanley Cup, period,” Scott said.
What’s the biggest issue facing the Flyers’ front office?
As one NHL source termed it: “Too many cooks.”
The Flyers have four senior advisers on their payroll. Three are former NHL general managers of some renown: Paul Holmgren, who has been with the organization for five decades and served as general manager from 2006-14; Dean Lombardi, who built a Los Angeles Kings team that won two Stanley Cups last decade; and Bobby Clarke, a general manager for 19 seasons in Philadelphia and whose name is synonymous with Flyers hockey. There’s also a fourth senior adviser in Bill Barber, a former Flyers coach.
These are not honorary titles or silent advisers. These are influential voices behind the scenes who have the ear of Scott and have plotted the course for the franchise — a course that, let’s face it, has sent the Flyers through choppy waters and straight into the rocks.
Any full reassessment of the hockey operations side has to include a reconsideration of who is steering this ship — either changes to that senior adviser staff or giving the president of hockey operations and general manager more influence and autonomy away from those shadow governors. That’s essential.
According to NHL sources, another issue with the Flyers is the relationship between the hockey operations side and the business side.
The word used by one source was “disconnection.” There have also been moments like when Provorov opted not to wear a Pride Night jersey and was allowed to sit out of warmups before a game in January. The Flyers’ marketing team wasn’t privy to that decision by the hockey staff. The fallout created a controversy that overshadowed the franchise’s work on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community.
Scott had been both the chairman and CEO of Spectacor until last month, when Dan Hilferty was hired as the new CEO. He was the president and CEO of Independence Blue Cross. He most recently led Philadelphia’s successful bid to be a host city for the 2026 World FIFA World Cup. When hired, he called himself “a longtime Philadelphian and a tenacious Flyers fan.”
Hilferty joins Scott and Valerie Camillo, the president and CEO of Spectacor sports and entertainment, in the business side’s power structure. It’s unclear how the dynamics shift, if at all, with Hilferty as CEO. But Flyers writer Anthony SanFilippo recently reported that Hilferty’s influence on hockey operations won’t be substantial.
“Hilferty wasn’t brought in to take Scott’s job, but rather to manage other parts of it while Scott is focusing more on the Flyers specifically,” SanFilippo said.
Whoever replaces either of Fletcher’s jobs will have to manage all of these relationships, too.
It all adds up to a summer of upheaval in Philadelphia, for a franchise that needs it.