After 17 seasons with five different teams, veteran forward Daniel Briere announced his retirement from the game of hockey Monday morning.
As the beginning of a new week was creeping from it slumber, an NHL career came to an end.
Veteran forward Daniel Briere announced that he will not lace his skates up anymore to pend more time with family. He joins Martin St. Louis, his former teammate Kimmo Timonen, and Sami Salo as players who have called it a career this offseason.
He split his career between five teams.
The then-Phoenix Coyotes drafted Briere 24th overall in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. The right winger spent six seasons in the organization, with a majority of his being spent between the NHL and the Coyotes AHL affiliate, Springfield Falcons. It wasn’t until the 2001-2002 season, that Briere became a regular starter for the Coyotes.
His best year in the NHL came with the Buffalo Sabres in the 2006-2007 season. He would register 95 points (32 goals, 63 assists) in 81 games played. Briere spent four seasons with the team, helping them to a berth in the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost to the Ottawa Senators in five games.
The following season, he would sign with the Philadelphia Flyers to a eight-year contract worth $52 million. It was there that Briere made a name for himself.
In his first season, he would register 72 points (31 goals, 41 assists) in 79 games. He became an integral part of shaping the Flyers into a playoff contender again, and made the postseason in his first five years with the team.
An unforgettable moment that fans won’t soon forget came at the 2012 Winter Classic in Philadelphia. It was not a highlight for Briere and the Flyers, but still was part of that year’s history which is still replayed today.
After the Flyers missed the playoffs in the 2012-2013 season, Briere’s contract was bought out by management. he would go onto sign with his childhood team, the Montreal Canadiens, for two years worth $2 million.
Unfortunately, he never regained his scoring touch, which made him a threat on the ice early in his career. After a sub-par first year with the Canadiens, he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche after the 2013-2014 season. He joined forces with former Canadiens great Patrick Roy.
After 973 games in the NHL, it was time. In a quote posted by NHL.com, Briere talks about why he made the decision:
After taking a few weeks to think about it, it’s time to hang them up and spend a little more time at home with the family…I’ve been very, very fortunate to have had a chance to play with some great organizations, but at this point the family becomes a priority…
Briere registered 696 total points in the NHL. In the regular season, he earned 307 goals and 39 assists, a career -24 in goal differential, and had over 700 minutes in penalties.
But what he maybe most known for is his playoff numbers. In his career, Briere played in 124 games and was nearly a point-per-game producer.
He made the Stanley Cup Playoffs 10 out his 17 seasons and registered 53 goals and 63 assists. Briere was a key contributor to the Flyers Stanley Cup appearance in the 2009-2010 season. In that postseason, he scored 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists) in 23 games played.
Though, he never hoisted the Stanley Cup, Briere did earn four Gold medals for Team Canada in the both the World Junior and senior World Championships.
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