It's why Briere's approach will be about building around some of what is in place, rather than stripping the roster completely.
"I want to make sure that rebuild doesn't mean fire sale, and there's a big difference between the two," he said. "So I want to make that clear. We're not going to get rid of everybody. We have some good players here, some players that are in certain roles that we're going to keep. We're going to look at every possible option out there to improve the team.
"I don't think this is a quick fix. That's my belief and that's why I'm not afraid to use the word rebuild. But as long as you all understand those little asterisks, that it doesn't mean fire sale for me."
Giving Tortorella and his staff what is needed to finish the season will be Briere's short-term focus, as well as a deeper evaluation of players as well as the rest of the front office.
But he'll also spend a great deal of time focusing on the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft, where the Flyers likely will have a top-10 selection for the second consecutive season, after they chose forward Cutter Gauthier with the No. 5 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
"The draft is going to be a key opportunity for us to improve our team for the future," Briere said. "The reality is, unfortunately, we're not going to make the playoffs most likely this season and we're going to be positioned pretty well to add a key, quality player for the future of this franchise. So that's going to be important, the next couple of months to send the proper people in the right place to see who's out there. Make sure we make the right picks and that's also going to be a key responsibility of my job."
Briere had been a special assistant to Fletcher since being hired by the Flyers on Feb. 8, 2022. But the journey to his current role began during his playing days, when he spent as much time studying the GMs he played for as much as he did his opponents on the ice.
The former forward said watching Darcy Regier build the Buffalo Sabres when he got there in 2002-03 was informative. As was watching Paul Holmgren when he signed with the Flyers in 2007-08 and they went from last in the NHL standings in 2006-07 to reaching the Eastern Conference Final in 2008. He also mentioned learning from Marc Bergevin during his season with the Montreal Canadiens (2013-14), as well as from Joe Sakic when he played for the Colorado Avalanche in 2014-15, during their build to become Stanley Cup champions last season.
"Maybe I was hired officially under Chuck in the past year, but my journey started a long, long time ago," Briere said. "I've always been someone that pays attention to what's going on, and how processes are being done and how I could use it if one day if I'd be in that position.
"I'm not going to lie, it's something that I saw myself do from early on when I was playing and always believed that I could be in this position one day. So it's why it's so special and so exciting for me."
