Daniel Briere issues statement after losing out on Leo Carlsson and it sounds like a warning
Photo credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
Anaheim matched the money. It cannot match what the offer sheet did to how the Ducks will pay every young player they develop from here.
Philadelphia's five-year, $90MM offer carried an $18MM average annual value, the richest cap hit in league history.
Pat Verbeek matched Thursday rather than accept four Flyers first-round picks, and Daniel Briere released a statement Friday saying the club understood the outcome was possible and would keep pursuing every opportunity without sacrificing its future.
That sounds like Philly isn't done looking into offer sheets for other players around the league.
"We understood this outcome was possible when we made the offer. While the result isn't what we hoped for, our goal does not change, we remain committed to pursuing every opportunity that will strengthen our team and continue to build towards becoming a consistent and perennial contender without sacrificing our future."
- Daniel Briere
- Daniel Briere
Read that as a loss and you miss what Briere bought for free.
The weapon was the cash, not the cap hit
The deal is loaded heavily with signing bonuses, with a large chunk payable almost immediately upon registration.
Signing bonuses are buyout-proof and must be paid in real dollars regardless of a lockout or a team's internal budget.
Verbeek did not write those terms. The Flyers did, and Anaheim's ownership had to fund them within seven days.
Verbeek's attrition model just lost its leverage
Anaheim's approach with young restricted free agents had been patience and pressure. Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale and Mason McTavish all signed eventually, and all three are now playing somewhere else.
Zegras and Drysdale are Flyers, both filing for salary arbitration this month. McTavish is a Blue.
Now Cutter Gauthier, coming off 41 goals and 69 points, negotiates with an internal comparable that pays a 21-year-old $18MM and fronts the cash.
Anaheim sits under $10MM in space with that conversation still open.
The Flyers kept their four firsts and a league-high $29.5MM. Chicago and Columbus, still without deals for Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli, just watched the offer sheet become a structuring tool rather than a poaching tool.
Anaheim won the player. Briere rewrote the price of every young star still unsigned.
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