Former Sabres, Flyers great Daniel Briere retires from hockey

The center is considered one of the Broad Street Bullies’ most prolific playoff goal scorer. That type of postseason performance earned him the nod of being one of the best playoff hockey players of all time.

Is it because he’s always got a smile on his face and has the time of day for anyone and everyone?

But, perhaps the most satisfying moment was what Briere didn’t do to the Rangers. You couldn’t help but shed a tear reading about the sudden loss of his mother, either. “When I go back home, I can say that I’ve played for the Montreal Canadiens, which is pretty cool”. The boys are all in high school, they don’t have a lot of time left at home, and I don’t want to miss any more time with them. Briere plans to marry his fiance Misha, a Harleysville, Pa. native, next summer.

Briere officially retired Monday, and via a news conference at the Skate Zone in Voorhees Tuesday essentially will retire as a Flyer. “I guess it’s the competitive side”. Up until about a week to 10 days before free agency, I was convinced I was going to be a Buffalo Sabre for the rest of my career…. It was there that Briere made a name for himself. Not familiar with his postseason scoring punch?

In 2010, Briere was part of the Philadelphia Flyers Eastern Conference Champions that made it to the Stanley Cup Final. That stands as a team record for playoff points and four of his goals were game-winners.

In an injury-shortened 2005-2006 season, Briere averaged more than a point per game, registering 58 points (25-33) in just 48 games during the regular season. They became the third team in Stanley Cup Playoff history and the first in 35 years to pull off such a comeback in a seven-game series, but the Flyers also did it after falling into a 3-0 hole in the first period of Game 7.

On the brink of elimination, Briere thought the Flyers had wasted their momentum.

“That was kind of my motivation at the time to prove them wrong”, he said. I was yelling at the referee, who was Stephen Walkom, all the way up the penalty box. I couldn’t control myself. The game is far from over.

Briere was selected in the 1996 National Hockey League Draft by the Phoenix Coyotes.

Briere played 973 regular-season games over 18 seasons for the Coyotes, Sabres, Flyers, Avalanche and Canadiens.

He’ll finally be able to give them his full attention now. I think the whole team was. An immensely popular player while in Springfield in the late 1990s, Briere announced his retirement this week. Booed with such ferociousness, he had to tell his mother to stop coming to games. Because Briere was good in Philly.