Fist Pumpin' Out of Philly
Danny Briere's classic "fist pump" celebration. Photo courtesy of: http://www.rantsports.com/clubhouse/2012/10/18/top-30-celebrations-in-sports-today/
I sit here writing this post wearing
a large, black, number 48, Danny Briere Philadelphia Flyers shirt. It
is only fitting that this was the shirt I chose to pick out before I
sat down to type what I have to say today.
On July 1st,
2007, Danny Briere became a member of the Philadelphia Flyers by
signing an eight year, 52 million dollar contract.
The Philadelphia Flyers should amnesty
Danny Briere before the 2013-14 NHL regular season. After spending
six sub par seasons in Philadelphia and now that the Flyers have the
ability to amnesty two players from the new Collective Bargaining
agreement, Briere should be let go.
Heres why:
1. Age
Briere turns 36 October 6th,
and in today's NHL that is almost ancient. Obviously, as players age,
their production slowly reduces as in the case with Briere.
2. Lack of Production
Let's check out Briere's numbers with
the six years he's spent in Orange and Black, as well as his last
year in Buffalo.
Regular Season Statistics:
2006-07 – Buffalo Sabres – 81 games
played – 32 goals – 63 – assists – 95 points – Plus / Minus
of 17
This was his best year offensively as
he finished 10th in the league in points. After this
massive year, Briere hit free agency and signed his deal with the
Flyers.
Signed with Philadelphia 2007.
2007-08 – 79 games played – 31
goals – 41 assists – 72 points – Plus / Minus of -22
2008-09 - 29 games played – 11 goals
– 14 assists – 25 points – Plus / Minus of -1
2009-10 - 75 games played – 26 goals
– 27 assists – 53 points – Plus / Minus of -2
2010-11 - 77 games played – 34 goals
– 34 assists – 68 points – Plus / Minus of 20
2011-12 - 70 games played – 16 goals
– 33 assists – 49 points – Plus / Minus of 5
2012-13 - 34 games played – 6 goals –
10 assists – 16 points – Plus / Minus of -13
TOTAL – 364 games played – 124
goals – 159 assists – 283 points – Plus / Minus of -13
AVERGAGE – 60.1 games played – 20.1
goals – 26.5 assists – 46.6 points
Briere has never been even close to
registering 95 points with the Flyers. His highest point total in the
regular season with Philly was his first year when he posted 31
goals, 41 assists for 72 points.
Those statistics are not worth his
contract.
One can argue that if Briere has such a
stellar post-season statistics that it should not matter if he has
sub-par regular season statistics. Let's breakdown his stats:
Playoff Statistics:
Again, we will begin with his last
season in Buffalo when he had a monster regular season, finishing
with 95 points.
2006-07 – Buffalo Sabres -16 games
played – 3 goals – 12 assists – 15 points – Plus / Minus of 3
With Philadelphia
2007-08 – 17 games played – 9 goals
– 7 assists – 16 points – Plus / Minus of - 3
2008-09 – 6 games played – 1 goals
– 3 assists – 4 points - Plus / Minus of - 1
2009-10 – 23 games played – 12
goals – 18 assists – 30 points - Plus / Minus of 9 (Cup Final Year)
2010-11 – 11 games played – 7 goals
– 2 assists – 9 points - Plus / Minus of - 7
2011-12 – 11 games played – 8 goals
– 5 assists – 13 points - Plus / Minus of – 6
TOTAL – 68 games played – 37 goals
– 35 assists - 72 points
AVERAGE – 13.5 games played – 7.4
goals – 7 assists – 14.4 points
There are no 2012-2013 playoff
statistics for Danny Briere because the Flyers failed to make the
playoffs.
As one can see, Briere is lethal in the
playoffs. He averages a bit over a point per game and has proven to
be extremely clutch when the game is on the line. Yet, he only
averaged 46.6 points a year with the Flyers in the regular season. He
has not played up to the size of his 8 year, 52 million dollar
contract!
Briere has had success in the playoffs,
but if he can not help lead his team into the playoffs (as for the
case of the 2012-13 Flyers) then those statistics have hold no
weight. Yes, there is no way that it was just Briere's lack of
production that kept the Flyers from making the playoffs this year,
but he could have definitely been a bigger help offensively.
3. Cap Hit
The most obvious reason to amnesty
Briere is due to his contract. According to Capgeek.com Briere's cap
hit is 6.5 million per year, which is colossal, especially for a
player who is not producing enough for the size of his contract.
Check out these players who have a similar cap hit to Briere's:
Cap Hit Comparisons:
25 year old Anze Kopitar of the LA
Kings – 6.8 million
34 year old Pavel Datsyuk of the
Detroit Red Wings – 6.7 million
33 year old Brad Richards of the New
York Rangers – 6.67 million
24 year old Patrick Kane of the Chicago
Blackhawks – 6.3 million
25 year old Jonathan Towes of the
Chicago Blackhawks – 6.3 million
32 year old Henrik and Daniel Sedin of
the Vancouver Canucks – 6.1 million
Kopitar, Datsyuk, Richads, Kane and
Towes have all won Stanley Cups. One can argue that all of these
players have played up to their contract better than Briere has.
Closing Remark
Do not get me wrong, Danny Briere has
been a solid NHL player and is a beast in the playoffs. He's posted
109 points in 108 career post-season games. With the Flyers he has
played in 68 playoffs games and has registered 72 points.
Besides, if he did not suffer a
concussion before this year's trade-deadline, Briere may very well be
playing against the New York Rangers as a member of the Boston
Bruins. There were indications and rumors that Briere would have been
traded to Boston before he suffered his concussion.
Due to Briere's age, lack of production, and excessive contract, the Philadelphia Flyers should amnesty him before the 2013-14 regular season. It just makes sense to get rid of the bad, overpriced contract they gave to him back in 2007. If Briere had a more appropriate contract for his production, then it would make sense to keep him, due to his playoff dominance. Before the puck drops on the 2013-14 NHL season, Danny Briere may very well be "fist pumped" out of Philly.
Enjoy some of Briere's plays in this video:
Video credit - Kyle Samson
Sources :
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