Briere: Landing Another First-Round Pick Was Key To Provorov Trade

General manager Daniel Briere said the Flyers were going to rebuild and yesterday he got to work.

The Flyers’ trade of Ivan Provorov to Columbus for a first-round pick, other picks and players was probably inevitable and maybe the start of a major renovation. The biggest building block is the acquisition of another first-round pick.

Briere said landing the No. 22 overall pick was the key part of the deal. This year’s draft is supposed to be deep and now the Flyers have the 7 and 22 picks.

“We have the chance to get a really good player when you’re drafting in the top-10 this year in this crop, but it’s a deep draft, and we felt we wanted to acquire another pick in the first two rounds, not having a second-rounder this year,” Briere said on a Zoom conference call.

“So, having a chance to get number 22 was critical to the deal for us.”

To get assets, you have to give up assets, said Briere, who made his first trade with the Flyers.

“Well, part of it is that we are in a rebuilding stage,” Briere said of the trade.

“We felt that the picks and the direction that we wanted to go in, it was really enticing. Very exciting.

“We have a chance to really kind of start building the team the way we want it, the right way that we’ve talked about. I think it kind of starts with that.

“It wasn’t an easy decision. Ivan has been a really good soldier for the Flyers for a lot of years. A lot of sweat, a lot of hits he’s taken, a lot of pucks he’s blocked.

“He’s really poured his heart out into the Flyers. It wasn’t an easy decision. For us, what we were looking at is young guys and picks. We’ve said it from the beginning, so that was the major reason behind it.”

Stay With Flyers?

Provorov during the season said he wanted to remain with the Flyers.

“The last couple weeks, I’ve had a few different discussions on Ivan,” Briere said. “There’s other teams involved but it really seemed like the best fit was with Columbus. The interest was really high on Columbus’ side, so we started focusing on that a little more in the last couple days.”

Provorov is only 26 years. He should be in his prime. He was the Flyers’ best defenseman, so trading him might seem a bit puzzling.

“The points may make it look that way [he had stagnated], but also, he wasn’t really put in a position to succeed,” Briere said.

“What I mean by that is he didn’t have a lot of power-play time, so it’s not just about the points for Ivan. He’s a hard defender. He never bails and plays hard every single night.

“We have a lot of respect for that. We still consider him a top pairing for our team, but again, to acquire assets and a first-round pick in a deep draft like this year, you have to pay the price and we had to give up on a good player.”

Briere was asked about goalie Carter Hart, the subject of trade talk and rumors. Briere has said he would listen to offers for Hart.

“I’m still in the same spot I was,” Briere said. “We’re open for business. We listen on everybody. Everybody’s being treated the same way for us on our side.”

Briere said Provorov’s refusal to participate in the Flyers Pride Night had no bearing on the trade. “No, it did not factor into the trade,” Briere said.

“All I’d like to say thanks to Ivan for being a great soldier for a lot of years and at this time we felt it was in the best of interest for everybody to make this trade.”

The Flyers Received:

• The Blue Jackets’ No. 1 pick, 22nd overall, acquired from the Kings during the season.
• The Kings’ second-round pick in 2024.
• Kings prospect defenseman Helge Grans.
• Goalie Cal Petersen.
• Defenseman Sean Walker.
• A conditional second-round pick from Columbus, in either 2024 or 2025.

The Kings retained 30 percent of Provorov’s contract. Los Angeles acquired veteran defenseman Kevin Connauton and forward Hayden Hodgson from the Flyers.

Provorov, 26, was the Flyers’ seventh overall pick in 2015. This past season, he scored six goals and 27 assists in 82 games. He was a minus-17. He played seven seasons with the Flyers.