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The Philadelphia Flyers were once one of the NHL’s premier franchises.
These days, however, the Flyers are nothing more than the laughing stock of the league.
Philadelphia has not won a Stanley Cup in nearly five decades and the Flyers haven’t even sniffed a cup run in over a decade now.
Along the way, they’ve shown time and again that they’re still trying to rebuild the Broadstreet Bullies despite the game of hockey changing tremendously in the years since.
It appeared things were finally changing in April when then general manager Chuck Fletcher was let go and and Comcast Spectacor (which owns the team) chairman Dave Scott announced he was retiring.
Scott has overseen the team since the passing of legendary owner Ed Snider in 2016.
In stepped new chairman Dan Hilferty, who announced that things would be different.
One month later, it appears that things will not, in fact, be different.
The Flyers named former player Danny Briere, who had been working his way through the ranks, as their interim general manager in April. They named Briere the full-time GM on Thursday without so much as even a phony search.
OFFICIAL: The Flyers have named Keith Jones to the position of President of Hockey Operations and named Daniel Briere to the position of General Manager. https://t.co/LqajwplUfC
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) May 11, 2023
Philadelphia also named Keith Jones, another former player, its president of hockey operations. Jones is well liked, but has zero front office experience in the NHL.
Now, maybe Briere and Jones both crush it. By all accounts, Briere is a smart, forward-thinking guy. But neither have a proven track record and both follow the classic “guy we know” hiring trope in Philadelphia.
Following the moves, the Flyers also put out a press release.
Welcome to A New Era of Orange. pic.twitter.com/Oplfwf7u7v
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) May 11, 2023
“This is a new era of hockey, and we’re building a new foundation for the future. New ways to work, new ways to train, and new ways to win,” the release read in-part. “We have new voices, new perspectives, and new plans, but this is still Flyers hockey, so the goal the goal remains the same: Win.”
If you, like us, read that and don’t actually know what it means, you’re not alone! Flyers fans absolutely destroyed the buzzword-filled statement shortly after it was released.
I love the #Flyers, but I'm so past idea that words like these mean anything
I can't read this without my eyes glossing over
It's like when Torts was talking about Hockey Gods + karma in reference to tanking – well, Hawks won the lottery…
Actions and wins will speak loudest https://t.co/G5yWCMkgtb
— Dan Silver (@dsilver88) May 11, 2023
Just stop … Play better and you don't have to put out trash like this https://t.co/EDXNRG0XgJ
— Mitch Rupert (@Mitch_Rupert) May 11, 2023
meet the new boss same as the old boss https://t.co/u3o67t1mzV
— Yo! (@FlyGoalScoredBy) May 11, 2023
The Flyers say they’re doing things different. But their actions don’t show that.
So until proven otherwise, it sure looks like Philly is going to continue to ruin a once-proud franchise.