Brière, Tocchet Discuss Visions for Flyers’ Future

Brière made sure to reiterate how much some of the other young talent exceeded expectations. When the Flyers called up Denver Barkey in December, he was only supposed to stay in the NHL for a weekend. When Alex Bump was promoted post-trade deadline, it was supposed to be one game before Tocchet said he wanted to keep playing him. He also mentioned Oliver Bonk and David Jiricek, two young defensemen who will push for playing time next season.

As for Barkey, at 5-foot-9, he has the build of a winger, which is his primary position. But Tocchet experimented with him in the middle against the Hurricanes, which could stick, although that’s not a guarantee.

“I think he handled himself really well. Is it good that a guy can play both? Absolutely. To have that hybrid guy can play either wing or [center], that’s a luxury,” Tocchet said. “Do I really want to screw around with the kid and bounce him around, left wing, center, every other night? No. I don’t think that’s healthy…If there’s a guy you can bounce around every once in a while, he’s the guy, because his hockey IQ is outstanding. His work ethic is outstanding.”

Flyers Must Find More Offense

The anecdote Tocchet shared about Michkov adds extra weight because of the team’s struggling power play. For the third time in four years, the power play was ranked dead last in the regular season. The Flyers’ PP has also been below 15% in each of their last four playoff runs, dating back a decade.

“Walking into this as a staff, we knew this was a five-year, six-year problem,” Tocchet admitted. “It’s a talking point every year here. So right away, for us, we didn’t want to make it such a focal point that it took away from other parts. But it is a focal point. It’s a mental thing and physical thing, for me… I just felt some guys were nervous.”

The Flyers have tried lots of different things over the years, from shuffling personnel to consulting with retired power play threats. But there are still levers Tocchet wants to pull going into next season.

“How do we coach it for them to understand the reads? Is it better to do on the ice than video?” Tocchet noted. “I’ve already talked about it with the coaches. We might just have a dedicated half-an-hour power play practice on one rink before the practice even starts.”

When asked about improving the team’s overall offense – the Flyers ranked 20th in 5-on-5 goals per 60, per Natural Stat Trick – Tocchet cited improved play on the walls and in the corners going forward. That would help the power play, too.

“I didn’t like our retrievals at all. Lots of times, we had three against their two, and somehow, we never came out with those pucks on the positive side. We were more on the negative side, and that’s gotta be an improvement.”

Philadelphia’s Offseason Strategy

Brière’s first offseason with the Flyers in 2023 was a great start to his tenure, including the Ivan Provorov trade (which led to the Sean Walker trade), drafting Michkov and Bonk in the first round, and signing Ryan Poehling and Garnet Hathaway. After a quieter approach in 2024, he nailed the signings of Christian Dvorak and Dan Vladař and did the same with Trevor Zegras via trade.

With the Flyers returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2020, Brière will, of course, look to build on that momentum. But he’s also not ready to floor it toward contention, either.

“From the time we started, we said it was going to be a rebuild, and that we needed patience. I think we’ve shown that that’s what we’ve done,” Brière said. “Now, if there’s a chance to help improve the team, and something that makes sense for the long run, yes, we will jump on it. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s the same thing, we’re still in the growth part of the rebuild.”

In terms of needs, Brière mentioned the center position, which isn’t a surprise, even with Zegras and Barkey holding down the middle after starting as wingers. He also mentioned defense, which is interesting given the team’s top six is under club control next season, and Jiricek is likely to make the team. So any addition there would likely come with some subtraction.

The Flyers, once again, also have to decide whether to re-sign their two goaltenders. For Vladař, it’s deciding whether he showed enough in his first season as an NHL starter to justify a long-term deal. With backup Sam Ersson, who was drafted two regimes ago by Ron Hextall, in the fifth round in 2018, it comes down to whether he did enough after the Olympics to atone for his struggles across the last two seasons to justify extending him a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent (RFA).

“That makes us believe that he could be the answer here. Hopefully, for a few more years,” Brière said on Vladař playing strong from start to finish while shouldering a workload twice as heavy as he’s ever had in the NHL. As for Ersson, Brière praised his character but said the front office hasn’t decided what his future will be with the organization.

There wasn’t much talk about re-signing the team’s RFAs, headlined by Zegras and Jamie Drysdale. Brière didn’t express urgency in coming to terms with them on what will likely be long-term commitments.

If Brière wants to be more aggressive this offseason, he should have an easier time. He mentioned Tocchet as a major draw for agents and their players, along with fewer players to target with no-trade clauses that include the Flyers. That’s especially important with a weak class of free agents this year, which could be the first of many as the salary cap skyrockets.

What’s Next

Brière probably won’t speak again until we get closer to the NHL Draft on June 26, barring a major acquisition before then. If the Flyers are looking to add in free agency, they’ll have a quick turnaround before that opens on July 1. Decisions on RFAs must be made before then, which is especially pertinent for Ersson’s situation.

There’s still about a month of playoff hockey left. If the Flyers can continue to progress as they have done over the last few months, perhaps they’ll still be on the ice this time next year.