General Manager Daniel Brière and new special adviser on hockey operations John LeClair will seek inspiration from their successful past with the Philadelphia Flyers to set them back on the path to success.
The team has had major problems in recent seasons. However, by embarking on a rebuilding cycle, the company gave itself its best chance of success by recruiting former flag bearers to run hockey operations. The new decision-makers are aware of the high expectations in this market and know it well.
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“Old people who have been here have experienced it and understand the culture. It’s an issue that we’ve talked about: we’ve moved a bit away from that and want to go back to the Flyers culture that we had. We’re going to take the next step and that’s what we want to achieve, which is to cross the final threshold and win the Stanley Cup,” LeClair said Wednesday in a statement aired on NHL.com.
Develop first
The Pennsylvania organization will focus its efforts on developing its perspectives to move forward. In particular, some goalkeepers like Felix Sandstrom, Ivan Fedotov, Alexei Kolosov and Samuel Ersson could become an alternative to Carter Hart or a bargaining chip, who knows?
“I think developing our perspectives is a priority for the organization,” LeClair said. We have some good talent to develop and that’s what we want to do. We want to get the best out of these guys, for them and for us.”
“I’m very excited about the process of developing Flyers prospects and players, whether it’s in the American Hockey League or a local team,” added Patrick Sharp, who fills the same roles as the former Montreal Canadiens. We have a number of players in New England and the East Coast that I can follow. We must try to help them in some way.”
The two men, who will also be working alongside Keith Jones, President of Ice Hockey Operations, have busy schedules. Philadelphia ended last season with a record of 31-38-13, missing the playoffs for the third straight season. His last Stanley Cup Finals appearance was in 2010, when he lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.