Of course, with Briere’s decision to announce his retirement tomorrow – which he has confirmed he will do in Philadelphia, where he played 364 of his 973 regular season National Hockey League games – one more veteran name can be crossed off the free agent list for this fall; if he can’t bring about a PTO, it’s possible that fellow 1996 draftee Dainius Zubrus could follow suit or head back to Europe. The former Flyers (not to mention Coyotes, Sabres, Canadiens, and Avalanche) center played in Philly from 2007 to 2013.
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“One of the reasons why I chose to do it here in Philadelphia is because I had some of my best memories here, ” the 37-year-old Briere said of his 17-year professional stint. “I’ve created a fantastic time in Philadelphia but have been notably, remarkably lucky to have an opportunity to spin here”, Briere said. “It’s home to me and my family, and the boys [Caelan, Carson, Cameron] are going to school here [at St. Augustine Prep in Richland, N.J.]”. He scored 30 goals five times and had a career-high 95 points in 2006-07 for the Sabres. He had 25 points in 69 games with Montreal in 2013-14 and 12 points in 57 games with Colorado this past season.
But on February 13, 2010, Briere was comfortable enough after three seasons in Philly that he left his mom a pass.
The Flyers fell short of their ultimate goal, but if not for Briere’s heroics, it’s hard to imagine they would have had a chance at all. He notched points in eight of those games, including goals in seven.
Something had to change after that season, and among the changes the Flyers made was signing forward Danny Briere. That type of postseason performance earned him the nod of being one of the best playoff hockey players of all time. It wasn’t until the 2001-2002 season, that Briere became a regular starter for the Coyotes. He had 307 goals and 389 assists for 696 career points. Briere was taking part in the event for the second time in his career, and he had two of his kids there to share the experience. But Gratton wasn’t anywhere near as good or dynamic a player as Briere and his signature down on one knee, fist pump after scoring a goal.
Briere spurned the Canadiens, his boyhood favorite team, and angered fans there so much that he was jeered each time he played in Montreal.
“It’s amusing, all three of them were split”, Briere said of asking his sons whether or not he should retire.
Briere recorded 68 points (36G, 32A) in 62 career playoff games with the Flyers, giving him an average of 1.10 points per playoff game.
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The team is making tickets for the game available now to people who purchase an 11-game partial season ticket plan.
