Briere, Flahr on Flyers Draft: ‘There’s Actually a Really Good Chance That We Keep the Picks’

In just 10 days, the Flyers start the critical juncture of the offseason with the NHL Draft. GM Danny Briere and assistant GM Brent Flahr met with the media on Tuesday for their annual pre-draft availability, where they broke down their plans for the upcoming draft.

The Flyers have 11 total picks in the draft this year, including three first-round picks, seven picks in the first 48 selections, and eight selections in the first 68. This includes the sixth overall pick. 

Of course, having that much draft capital presents a greater opportunity for trades. Briere expects to see the volume of calls pick up in the coming days as the draft nears.

“With having so many picks, I would expect that I'm also going to make a lot of calls too to try and gauge the interest,” Briere said. “But so far, it's been quiet on that front. It feels like everybody's trying to move up at the moment. We have said from the beginning that we would like to try to move up if it was possible, but there's just not a lot of options there. Teams are all looking to move up, so we'll have to be patient. Maybe there's an opportunity that comes where we can create value going the other way also.”

Flahr focused on the four second-round picks as providing more flexibility and freedom to explore different opportunities when it comes to potential movement or exploring different tiers of players for selection. While most teams have one second-round pick or have traded it away in previous deals, the Flyers are sitting on some valuable capital as Day 2 begins.

“Traditionally, if you just have one pick in the second round, you're getting really focused in on just a small group of players that you think are going to be there,” Flahr said. “This year for our group, because of what we have, we've spent a lot of time on a lot of different ranges. And there's certain layers like we have every year. We have dug a little deeper this year and spent a lot more time in certain areas. We will gauge it and if there's players still available that we have in a higher layer, we'll move up. If not, and we think we can get value and move back a couple of spots and still get the same caliber player, we'll try to do that. 

“I think there's going to be some opportunities for movement. Having more picks is always beneficial and it just gives you a lot of freedom to do a lot of different things whether it's trading out right for a player, trading up if there is a player still on the board that you're really excited about, or again trading back or trading out.”

With so many picks in their possession early in the draft, there is certain to be some movement, right? As much as that has been the speculation, Briere pumped the brakes on that notion.

“After spending a lot of time with their guys there's a lot of players that our guys like in that window after 22 through 48,” Briere said, “so there's actually a really good chance that we keep the picks and we really build around those guys.”

Briere highlights the final six picks of that grouping, 22nd overall and another pick coming 31st or 32nd – pending the outcome of the Stanley Cup Final – as well as the four second-round picks, but all eyes will be on sixth overall. This is the pick, the highest of the bunch, where the Flyers can potentially make the biggest impact. 

It was about six weeks ago that the Flyers learned their fate in the NHL Draft Lottery, one that was not in their favor. The team with the fourth-best odds at the first overall pick instead dropped two spots. Briere was asked if he feels the Flyers are going to miss out on an upper-tier prospect by falling two additional spots.

“Not anymore, not after spending the time that we've done the last few weeks. And we're still every day…watching more video on those guys,” Briere said. “We feel more and more comfortable and confident that we're inside. There’s obviously the number one guy that everybody sees, but after that, yeah, on the night that it happened, I was bummed about falling back two slots. But after the last couple of weeks I feel really good about it.”

The top guy Briere is referring to is Matthew Schaefer, a defenseman expected to go first overall. Michael Misa is the top forward on most boards and is expected to go second overall. But after that, things could be wide open. The Flyers see it that way too.

“Yeah, it's pretty well talked about early in the draft in the top 10 there is a number of centerman, which isn't always the case,” Flahr said. “There are a few defensemen, a couple high-end wingers. There's obviously a lot of different options there. We are well aware of our own needs, but at the same time, there's some players, especially at number six we're going to go the best player on our board.”

“It almost feels like someone else is going to make the decision for us,” Briere said. “We feel that from two or three to eight, those guys are really close. We'll have a tough decision to make at six, we know that. But instead of having to choose between five or six guys it might be two or three guys.”

The Flyers will choose the best player available on their board when their selection comes up sixth overall. Briere did say that after that, they will potentially ease up on best player available and focus on more positions, say if they select three centers in the first round and have four more picks in the second round.

Briere also wanted to make clear something that has been stated throughout the offseason: that the plan remains the same despite having more cap space and an abundance of draft picks. There was some belief that having those two things at their disposal could lead to a more aggressive approach in the offseason.

“One thing I want to make sure and let our fans know is that our plan hasn't changed. We're not going to pay crazy assets just to do something crazy,” Briere said. “It has to make sense. If it doesn't, it doesn't, we'll select our players. It might be all the picks and there might be nothing that changes, but at the same time if we have a chance to improve the team and it makes sense for the long term we are going to look into it. So, it's on the table, but aggressive is probably the wrong word.”

Whether that is true or not remains to be seen. Briere may get an offer he can’t refuse for some of the Flyers’ picks. He may be keeping his cards close to the vest, as is per usual for him. He may be completely prepared to make seven selections in the first two rounds regardless.

It all sets up the start of what could be a busy week or so for the Flyers, as the draft takes place and free agency starts up hot on the heels of the draft.

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.