Flyers Attempting To Move Up Draft Order

Philadelphia Flyers GM Danny Briere held a pre-draft press conference at the Flyers' training facility on Thursday.

He gave insight into how the Flyers will approach the upcoming draft and the long-term strategy for the ongoing rebuild.

Briere admitted that, apart from the first overall pick, he isn't entirely sure where the rest of the first-round players will land, acknowledging that anything could happen.

"There's not a lot [of unpredictability]. "Even for us it's tough to figure out. There are a lot of good players, especially in the top 16/17 of the draft. We're going to get a good player, that's how we feel, [but] it's a tough one to predict," Briere acknowledged. "Looking at rumors and the mock drafts that are out there...it's all over the place. It's exciting when it's like that. There's a lot of different possibilities."

This will be Briere's second draft as the Flyers GM, but he has a solid idea of what he looks for in prospects, considering the rebuild is still at the forefront.

"If we have the chance to acquire more picks, it has to make sense at the same time. We're looking to possibly move up with certain picks; we're looking to move back. If we move up, we might have to give up a pick or two, but if the value is worth it to move up and give up a pick to acquire a player that we really love, we'll jump on it," Briere said. "On the flip side, if there's a clump of players we feel comfortable with, we'll move back to try and acquire more assets either later in the draft or next year," Briere explained. "Everything is on the table for us. We're looking at all kinds of options. We're not stuck in one mode of trying to move up or trying to move back. We have the picks, which gives us more possibilities to do either/or."

While there is only speculation about the Flyers and Ottawa Senators having a trade framework in place, that could certainly change. 

"It was nice and quiet until yesterday. I was enjoying my day, and you guys changed that all of a sudden," Briere joked. "You guys freaked out a lot of other people around the league, so I've got a lot more work in the last 24 hours."

"We're still looking to acquire assets that are going to help us in the future. We know where we're at as a team. It was awesome what happened last year, playing games that mattered all the way to game 82, even though we missed, but we realize we're not a Stanley Cup contender yet," Briere said. "We still have lots of work, and the future is still what we're targeting...That was the plan. We acquired assets to help us for the future."

Briere has said many times over the start of the 2024 offseason that he expects the summer to be quiet. It seems like the Flyers could be involved in at least a few moves.