There is no doubt that on Tuesday night the Wells Fargo Center will be jam-packed when the Philadelphia Flyers host the Buffalo Sabres, but it won’t be just for the contest between the two teams.
It will be crowded because of Danny Briere.
Briere will be honored by the Flyers in a pre-game ceremony for his recent retirement as an NHL player.
It makes sense that Philadelphia is the place to honor him. Briere spent six of his 17 seasons as a professional hockey player with the Flyers. He recorded 124 goals and 159 assists to earn 283 points in 364 games. He also earned 36 goals and 32 assists in 62 playoff games with the team. This earned him the eighth place spot on the Flyers all-time list of playoff goals.
As for what is expected on Tuesday night, Briere will tape a live speech following the protocol of Kimmo Timonen’s retirement ceremony.
"There are rules and regulations with the NHL so you’re only allowed a certain amount of time," Briere said. "So it won’t be a live speech, there’s just not enough time on the ice to do that."
A brief recording doesn’t mean it won’t be entertaining. Briere is also looking forward to it.
"Yeah definitely. It’s pretty special," Briere said. "This is the team that I’ve played the most amount of games and spent the most amount of time out on the ice for and also with the game being against the Buffalo Sabres is another pretty cool added little tidbit. So, I’m definitely looking forward to it."
Fans look forward to it as well. "Mr. Playoffs" was a well-loved and respected player in Philadelphia.
There was much disappointment when Briere was traded to the Montreal Canadiens. Whenever he returned to Philadelphia ice in another team’s sweater, he was always revered. He is aware of that. There are intentions on addressing the Philadelphia fans.
"A huge thank you for the amazing time, the amazing runs that we had, especially the 2010 playoff run, that was simply amazing," Briere said. "The whole city was buzzing, it was vibrating. It was really cool to be a part of it."
Fans in attendance will have the privilege of being part of the excitement. There will be many Briere jerseys proudly teeming around that night. Briere will remain with the organization in the business end, but he will always be remembered as one of the most-loved players.
The Flyerdelphia staff would like congratulate Danny Briere on a tremendous career and wish him well in retirement.
Denise Mroz is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow her on Twitter @denisemroz10.
