Keith Jones Praises Danny Briere On His Job As General Manager
President of the Philadelphia Flyers, Keith Jones joined The John Kincade Show this morning to discuss what went into trading Ivan Provorov. The now 26-year-old defenseman was drafted 7th overall by Philadelphia. Provorov served seven seasons as a Philadelphia Flyer debuting in October 2016.
The Flyers’ top defensemen became a part of a three-team trade that included the Columbus Jackets and the Los Angeles Kings. Provorov went to Columbus. The Flyers got in return goaltender Cal Petersen, defensemen Sean Walker and Helge Grans, and a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL draft from the Los Angeles Kings. From Columbus, Philadelphia received a first-round draft pick giving the Flyers the 7th and 22nd overall in this year’s draft.
Danny Briere was able to get a lot out of Provorov, and now there is even speculation on Carter Hart being traded. With the events that unfolded yesterday, Keith Jones, went into more detail about the direction of this Flyers team, “Standing still was not going to work for us. The phone lines are being worked an awful lot. There’s a lot that goes into making a deal that Danny was able to make in moving Ivan Provorov. There’s a lot of people we had to contact; there’s a lot of things that were being done behind the scenes to pull that off.”
With Philadelphia’s best defensemen gone; Jones commented on the effects this will have on Columbus and Philadelphia, “They’re going to better short term with him (Provorov) but we’re looking more long-term.” By acquiring draft picks the Flyers can draft solid defensemen in this defense-heavy draft. While losing a player like Provorov is hard to see; it’s the right move to truly begin the rebuild process.
Most importantly, the leadership off the ice is just as important as the leaders on the ice. With Danny Briere making his first big move as GM, Keith Jones, said, “I’m so proud of him (Briere). The amount of work that he put in to pull the deal off and he is such a bright young guy that gets it.”
Finally, when it comes to the Philadelphia Flyers, maybe the future could start looking bright again. Yesterday was a prime example that there are valuable players on the Flyers that can bring in valuable return assets.
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