Inside the NHL
Built around Briere, Flyers find winning formula
Bucky Gleason
Updated: 05/04/08 6:46 AM
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- Daniel Briere and the Flyers have become a gritty team that plays together.
Moments after scoring the winner to give his team a 3-1 series lead, Flyers center Daniel Briere made a point to say the best-of-seven matchup with the Canadiens was far from over. Remember, he warned, Philadelphia was in the same position in the first round and needed seven games to dispatch Washington.
The message could have come from anyone. Philly has other players in their dressing room who have stronger personalities and have enjoyed greater success. Derian Hatcher won a Stanley Cup with Dallas. Captain Jason Smith reached the finals two years ago when he was playing for Edmonton.
At least the Flyers have a message worth embracing.
No matter what happens from this point forward, they’ve already won this season. How? Because three rounds of the playoffs for a team that finished last in the league a year ago amounts to monumental progress. They’re going through a massive growth spurt before our eyes, one that will boost them next season.
I know it’s unbecoming for a born-and- raised Buffalo guy to shower such praise upon Philadelphia. Here we are, 33 years after the fact, and people around here still haven’t overcome Bernie Parent and Bob Clarke. This team is building around Briere, and he’s become a mature voice of reason for his young, emerging teammates.
Yes, this is Briere’s team.
He was the guy Flyers management targeted as a centerpiece, the guy who signed the eight-year contract worth $52 million last summer and offered hope. He was the guy fans booed during a midseason slump in their search for a leader. He’s also the guy who is now leading his team in postseason scoring for the third straight year — all three of which included trips to the conference finals.
Say what you will about Briere and the Flyers, despise them if it soothes your soul. But they have become a gritty team that plays together.
If the same players performed to the same level for Buffalo, this town would be buzzing about their toughness and camaraderie. But because they play with an edge in Philly, blindly loyal fans around here claim Hatcher & Co. are a bunch of no-good goons.
Wake up, folks. The Flyers are doing what works in the playoffs. They’re a resourceful underdog that’s getting timely scoring from role players and terrific goaltending from ex-Sabres backup Martin Biron.
“We don’t have that superstar like the [Alex] Ovechkin or the Sidney Crosby or the [Jaromir] Jagr,” Briere told reporters last week. “We are a team that relies on depth. We have different lines that can score and give you that boost on any given night.”
DareIsaytheFlyersare . . are. . . likable?
No wonder they’ve awakened a fan base that for years has lived with a sense of dread. Believe me, having lived and worked in Philly, the fans there have more in common with the fans here than either city would like to admit. Both are tortured sports towns, ours more than theirs, longing for a run toward a title.
FYI: Fans there cheered the tears out of former Flyers center Jeremy Roenick during a brief ceremony this season after he scored his 500th career goal. Fans here booed the Sabres’ ex-captains after they took Buffalo to the conference finals in consecutive years.
Philly had a 39-point improvement over last year in the regular season. They turned things around in less than a year because ownership supported General Manager Paul Holmgren without breathing down his spine. It gave him the confidence he needed to make necessary upgrades and manage the salary cap.
Interesting master plan, wouldn’t you say?
Briere has eight goals and 14 points in 12 postseason games. Biron stopped 162 of 176 shots (.920 save percentage) against the Canadiens before the series shifted back to Montreal. Vinny Prospal, acquired at the trade deadline, has 12 points. R. J. Umberger, who had 13 goals all season, has nine playoff goals. Mike Richards evolved into one of the NHL’s better two-way players. Jeff Carter and Mike Knuble are gamers.
Apparently, enough guys were getting the message.
Sabres prospects dangle
With every day that passes without a contract agreement, the chances increase that Sabres prospect Nathan Gerbe is headed back to college for his senior year. If he plays out his final season, he’s as good as gone.
You would think the Sabres learned their lessons over the past few years, but they continue jerking around their players. They could end up alienating — and losing — Gerbe and South Buffalo native Tim Kennedy if both players decide to get tough in negotiations. And they would have every right.
Gerbe led the nation in scoring, led his team to a national championship, was the best player in the Frozen Four and was selected to play for Team USA in the world championships. He’s going to play in the NHL. He shouldn’t accept less than the maximum allowed for rookies, or $850,000 a year.
And you wonder why players don’t want to deal with these guys.
Kennedy is in a similar position. He led Michigan State to a national title the previous year and led the Spartans in scoring two straight years. Sources said recent contract talks stalled after the Sabres made a lowball offer. We’ll see if he elects to play out his senior year and become a UFA.
Both would find plenty of suitors.
Aging Avs are near the end
His opportunities exhausted and his body feeling the same, Peter Forsberg sounded like a man bracing for retirement after the Avalanche was humiliated in a series sweep by the Red Wings. We’ll see if Joe Sakic joins him.
Forsberg for years has been a shell of his former greatness, clinging to his career the way Willie Mays did during his final days with the Mets. It appears his career will end with nine regular- season games and a sore groin that sidelined him for the decisive contest against the Wings.
“Maybe it’s time to realize my body has taken too much abuse,” the 34- year-old told the Denver Post afterward. “It’s tough to give up.”
Colorado is expected to make several changes (see: younger, faster, cheaper) in the months ahead. Sakic, who turns 39 in July, was sidelined for 38 games and had only 13 goals and 40 points in the worst year of his career. He led the Avalanche with 10 points in 10 playoff games after recording two assists in the series finale.
Sakic, Forsberg and defenseman Adam Foote were reunited after the last two were added to the roster at the trade deadline. Like most reunions, this one confirmed wear and tear that comes with age. It appears the only reunions remaining will be when their Stanley Cup teams get together for a few laughs about the good ole days.
Franzen’s feat
Johan Franzen became the first player in NHL history to record two hat tricks in a sweep, which he accomplished against the Avs. He had nine goals in the four games, breaking Gordie Howe’s 59-year-old team mark. Howe scored eight in seven games.
In 10 postseason games this year Franzen has 11 goals, another club record. He has one more than Brett Hull, who needed 23 games in 2002; Sergei Fedorov, who needed 22 contests in 1998, and Petr Klima, who needed 12 games in 1988.
“He’s a great big man with a lot of skill,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “If you’re going to break a record, it might as well be Gordie Howe’s.”
Franzen, 27, has played only three full NHL seasons since coming over from Sweden. He had 27 goals this season, five more than he had in his first two seasons combined. He had only four playoff goals before this year.
He’s the latest on a long list of great finds by GM Ken Holland. He was a third-round pick in the 2004 draft. He’s also among the NHL’s better bargains. He’s making just $900,000 this season and will become an unrestricted free agent after next season.
