Flyers 5: Takeaways from Danny Briere’s Press Conference After Tortorella’s Dismissal

Following the news that John Tortorella was dismissed by the Flyers on Thursday morning, and before the team snapped a six-game losing streak against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, GM Danny Briere addressed the latest monumental move by the Flyers organization.

Making the decision to relieve Tortorella of his duties wasn’t completely unexpected, given the team’s struggles and Tortorella’s comments following Tuesday’s game, but doing so with nine games remaining in the season certainly spoke volumes.

Here are five takeaways from what Briere had to say at his pre-game press conference. 

‘It’s Not One Thing. It Was a Series of Things That Have Happened.’

Many will look at the comments from after Tuesday’s game and point directly to that as the reason Tortorella was let go. Briere dismissed that it was the sole reason, but more a contributing factor.

“It's not one thing. It's a series of things that have happened,” Briere said. “And probably a little bit more in the last three weeks that has escalated since probably around the trade deadline, right after that.

“It's one of the things that have happened along the way. That's not the specific reason, and there's not one specific reason. It's one of the things that have happened along the way. There's been different ones as well. So it's not, don't just focus on that. I'm not going to get into the specifics of what we dealt with. That's not fair to Torts. We both have opinions, and it doesn't mean that mine is better than his. I don't want to get into that. But we had some different opinions on different things.”

Tortorella said after Tuesday’s game that he “was not interested in coaching in this type of season,” which sparked conversation that a coaching change could be possible at some point in the future. Instead, it appears that was the final straw on a series of events.

‘He’s Not a Yes Man and He Had an Opinion’

Briere was also complimentary of Tortorella for his work over the last three seasons. Briere took over as interim GM in March 2023, during the final few games of Tortorella’s first season with the Flyers, and assumed the GM role permanently later that offseason.

“Torts is a complicated man, a complicated coach. He's a blast to work with because he challenges you,” Briere said. “I truly believe he made me a better GM. I loved working with him and I think he loved working with me.” 

But at the same time, Briere noted that Tortorella had his own opinions in a variety of aspects with the team, and that led to decisions being made to make a change.

“He's not a yes man and he had an opinion, and he's earned the right to share his opinion,” Briere said. “And we listened to him. But again, myself, Keith Jones, Dan Hilferty, we felt at this time it was time to move in a different direction.”

‘I Really Hope This is Rock Bottom for Us Today’

Whenever a change is made, particularly behind the bench or in the front office, it’s easy to look at things and assess the situation as a failure. By dismissing Tortorella, the Flyers are on their seventh coach in the last 11 seasons, including interim stints for Scott Gordon, Mike Yeo, and now Brad Shaw. An eighth head coach will likely enter the fold for the 2025-26 season.

As the Flyers are in a rebuild, it’s certainly another step back in the plans. Tortorella had maximized the team’s performance to a near playoff appearance in 2023-24, only to watch players regress and to ultimately lose his own job in the process.

It’s a critical offseason for Briere, even more so now with a head coaching hire to be made. Briere also has seven draft picks in the first two rounds of the draft and more salary cap space than he’s ever had entering the offseason. So as much as it feels like another chapter ending in disappointment on the Flyers long road to return to relevance, Briere hopes this is the worst of it.

“I think not just on him, but on all of us. It's not easy. And that's probably the toughest part of the rebuild is going through this,” Briere said of the recent losses. “Now I really hope that this is the bottom. This is rock bottom for us today, and this is the turnaround. The trades were tough. They were tough to send some good players elsewhere and not really replace them in the trades. There were a lot of call-ups, younger guys, and guys that we want to see. So that makes it tough for the team, makes it tough for the coaches. And so yes, that was taking a toll on all of us and Torts included. He hates losing more than probably anybody we know. 

“But I hope moving forward, and I have the feeling that moving forward now, it's going to start to get better. Now, it's not going be an overnight thing. It's going to take time. But I feel we're stepping into a different phase of the rebuild. It's still a rebuild, but I feel it starting to go into a different phase now.”

‘A Coach That Can Teach is Going to Be Important’

One of the next big decisions the Flyers face is who the next head coach will be. Making the decision to dismiss Tortorella was still so fresh on Thursday that Briere couldn’t offer much about a potential coaching search, not even so much as that the team had prepared a list of potential candidates.

However, Briere did offer one important detail for what they will be looking for.

“There's nine games left. We're not going to bring in a different coach. Brad is the coach to finish the season,” Briere said. “We'll be evaluating him and our coaches the rest of the way. That's going to be part of it. I'm not sure exactly what we're going to be looking for as a coach. 

“One thing I can tell you is we have a young team. A coach that can teach is going to be important to start with. But as far as all the traits, I think it's a little too early to really dive deep into that.”

‘I Still Think It Was a Tremendous Experience for Matvei’

If John Tortorella was essentially the face of the Flyers when he was hired, Matvei Michkov was emerging as the face as his rookie season progressed, the one player that everyone wanted to see. Michkov’s first game since the coaching change was dominant, two goals and one assist and coming inches away from an empty-net goal that would have sealed his first career hat trick.

Just like that, Michkov is up to 54 points on the season, a respectable number considering Tortorella’s style and being benched multiple times.

Briere discussed having Michkov go through that style of coaching and felt it benefitted the Flyers rookie.

“I still think it was a tremendous experience for Matvei to learn from a hard, passionate coach,” Briere said. “He coached him hard and I think he's done a fantastic job. Now, Matvei is one of the most competitive hockey players I've been around. So that fit well, too. Not everybody is able to take the hard coaching that John Tortorella put on Matvei. I've been amazed by how he's responded to it. 

“You've seen him get benched, you've seen him get scratched. And what does he do? He comes back and all he wants to do is stick it back to you or stick it back to Torts. It was really impressive. Every time he was challenged, his competitiveness just rose to the top and he took over games.”

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