For those that missed it yesterday, the Philadelphia Flyers have announced their intention to buyout veteran forward Daniel Briere.
After a disappointing season in Philly, and with the team in a whole heap of cap trouble, this was a move the Flyers had to make. If you’ve followed this story here on the website for the past couple weeks, you’ll know that the Ottawa Senators had and continue to have, a keen interest in Gatineau-native Daniel Briere.
The interest in Briere actually goes back to last season.
For a cash strapped team, the structure of Briere’s contract was particularly attractive. While other teams may have been scared off by his high cap hit ($6.5 mil per), that would have been no issue for the Sens. The fact that his actual salary was so low in the last couple years of that deal made him an especially attractive option.
But now that obviously changes a little bit. Briere took his buyout, as you would expect, and now hits the open market as an unrestricted free agent.
Darren Dreger from TSN has suggested that as many as 15 teams will be in the market for Briere’s services. It doesn’t seem completely ridiculous that Briere would command $4 million or more on a two year deal on the open market.
I still believe the Sens will kick tires on this front but they’ll have a ton of competition from around the league.
- Still keeping a close eye on the situation with Damien Brunner in Detroit. The Wings want to sign him but are running out of time. If the 27 year old forward hits the open market, Ottawa will be interested.
- Two names that seem to be coming up the most heading into the draft. Bo Horvat and Samuel Morin. Morin seems like a guy that will be there if the Sens stay at 17 but Horvat may require a trade up. We know Murray is trying to move up in the order if he can.
- Looking for more Sens reading? Check out Scott Cullen's Off Season Gameplan for the Senators over on TSN.
