There have been numerous changes for the Flyers since the season came to an end. Chuck Fletcher was fired, Dave Scott retired while Danny Briere was named interim GM and Dan Hilferty took over for Scott.
The Flyers now have a more dynamic front office structure with their latest moves. Breaking the GM and President of Hockey Operations positions into two different roles, the team announced their hires earlier on Thursday morning.
The interim tag was taken off of Briere and Keith Jones, a very familiar face, was named the new Hockey Ops President. With that, the Flyers have clearly laid out how this new dynamic will work.
In a press release from the team, the Flyers outlined what each position will be focused on. Calling it “A New Era of Orange” the team will tackle this rebuild process with a whole new structure.
"“With this announcement, the Flyers have finalized their new management structure. The President of Hockey Operations will lead the strategic direction for all aspects of the hockey operations department while collaborating on business goals. The General Manager is responsible for all hockey decisions as it pertains to signings, trades and draft picks as well as overseeing scouting, player development, roster construction and more. Head coach John Tortorella will remain boss of the bench and like most head coaches in the NHL, he’ll provide input on various management topics.”"
At the top will be Hilferty, who stated in the release that this will be a five-person “unified leadership group.” Along will Hilferty, it will include President and CEO of Spectacor Sports & Entertainment Valerie Camillo, Jones, Briere, and head coach John Tortorella.
"“With this new Flyers leadership in place, we are committed to a collaborative approach on and off the ice. The five leaders of the business and hockey operations will work in lockstep across all areas to restore the winning tradition of Flyers Hockey.”"
Hilferty has hit the ground running since taking over for Scott. Originally thought to have a small role when it came to the Flyers, Hilferty has been a large part of process the team has gone in. There’s a clear feeling that he will be much more involved than originally expected. And with a team that has often hired from within, having a fresh face could do wonders for this next part of the process.
The Flyers are expected to undergo plenty more changes before next season. This is just a few of them on the business side. But they are major changes nonetheless. Hilferty is putting his confidence and faith in this group that they will be able to lead the Flyers.
"“I have full confidence that both Keith and Danny – together with Coach Tortorella, Valerie and me – are the right leadership team to guide the Philadelphia Flyers. We are unanimously committed to rebuilding and sustaining a winning culture – and doing it the right way.”"
A “winning culture” and “doing it the right way” are pretty pointed statements from Hilferty. And they align with what Tortorella has said all of last season. It’s clear changing the culture is one of the biggest focuses for the organization.
Time to put their money where their mouth is.