Kevin Kurz wrote this morning that Daniel Briere's patience as Flyers GM is about to meet real decisions that could make or break his tenure.
Briere has preached patience for the three-plus years he has been GM. This week he told fans and rival GMs not to expect a knee-jerk shake-up, and he challenged Rick Tocchet to turn the season around.
Nobody in Philadelphia is calling the Flyers' start a small problem. They sit at 5-10-6 with 16 points, 28th in the NHL and seventh in the Metropolitan Division.
The goal differential is -22, with 47 goals for and 69 against. The Flyers are 3-4-3 in their last 10, and Wednesday's 2-3 overtime loss at Edmonton was another game that slipped away late.
Kurz noted that some real decisions are going to have to be made, and soon, and that they could shape how Briere's time in the job is remembered.
Two names sit at the center of the noise. Matvei Michkov has 15 points in 21 games but is a -11, and Trevor Zegras has 14 points, so both are part of any honest conversation about what this roster needs.
On Michkov, Kurz reported that a Flyers team source said the 21-year-old, a pending restricted free agent, has not formally requested a trade. That fits what Daniel Briere's response to the Matvei Michkov trade chatter already suggested.
A post from a Flyers news account passed along Kurz's reporting that the team has no plans to trade Michkov.
The same source told Kurz there have been no substantive talks, so any shake-up involving Michkov is not on the table for now.
How long can Briere's patience last with Tocchet and Michkov?
Not long, we think. When a GM publicly challenges his coach, as Briere did with Tocchet this week, he is running short of other levers to pull.
Tocchet's situation is already part of the conversation around the league, with Rick Tocchet landing among four coaches facing the music this week. Briere played for the Flyers and knows how fast patience runs out in this market.
Kurz does not spell out in the post what the decisions are, and neither will we. The coach, the Michkov question and Zegras are the obvious places to look.
The Flyers play at Columbus on Saturday, against a Blue Jackets team that has lost three straight and sits 29th, one spot below Philadelphia.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
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