To Be Or Not to Be: The Future Of Danny Briere in Philadelphia

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

If you ask any general manager in the National Hockey League, they would love to have anywhere from five to seven million dollars in salary cap flexibility heading into this summer. With the salary cap expected to go down within the next two years, teams that are tight up against the cap will be making phone calls day and night to not only create salary room now, but plan for the future. A team like the L.A. Kings may be willing to take on some of the large contracts many GM's are looking to get rid of, while a team like the New York Rangers will be one of the teams looking to move one of those large contracts.

The Philadelphia Flyers fit the mold of the latter.

The Flyers are right up against the cap. With the hopes of icing and improved squad defensivley and in goal for next season, General Manager Paul Holmgrem will look to the trade route for answers to his intense salary cap dilema. Trading two out of three contracts in defencemen Matt Carle and Randy Jones or scorer Joffrey Lupul would ideally give the Flyers enough room to address their issues in net as well as on the blue-line. However, finding a new home for center Danny Briere could do all of that in one shot.

Danny Briere is a top-end NHL talent, who had a dissapointing second season with the Flyers decimated by injuries. In his first season with the Flyers, Briere didn't exactly perform as expected. While finishing almost a point per game, Briere finished with a career worst minus-22. After a few surgeries, the most recent a minor corrective eye surgery, Briere hopes to return to the Flyers next season healthy and ready to be a contributor once more.

But do the Flyers want him? Or better yet, can we afford to keep him?

Briere is a dynamic offensive player. He performs his best on the power-play, and should the Flyers keep him, that's where he's likely to do his most damage. Realistically, the Flyers could afford to trade Briere due to the emergence of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter last season as a one-two punch at center, as well as rookie Claude Giroux who can also play the pivot if needed. Briere developed chemistry with Giroux towards the end of the season and in the play-offs. Giroux figures to see increased ice time next season. Behind Carter, Richards and now Giroux, there's only so much ice time for Philadelphia's top-six forwards to go around. Throw in Scott Hartnell, who plays a lot along side Carter, and Simon Gagne, who plays a lot with Mike Richards, and it becomes a numbers game. Where does Briere fit into all of this? Does he fit into it at all?

Keeping Briere would do wonders for the Flyers power-play. If Briere was kept in a third line five on five, first line powerplay type role, he could ideally still hit around 60 points. Also, having a talent like Briere would be huge should Carter or Richards go down with a lengthy injury at any point during the season. Briere also has a strong, but suddle veteran prescence to contribute. Keeping Briere around could end up doing wonders towards the development of Claude Giroux as a premiere NHL scorer. But Does Danny Briere want a limited role on this team?

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?