Danny Briere, the Philadelphia Flyers hockey player, had hoped to play out his long contract with the teammates he loves in a city that he has embraced and that has embraced him.
Little did he know when he signed with the team that there would someday be a new NHL collective bargaining agreement that would make it accretive for some teams to buy out expensive players like Briere and reduce their salary cap.
The Flyers don’t want him to go to a competitor but they can’t afford not to take the $6 million salary cap expense off their books.
For Briere, the single father who shares custody of three young boys, he has had months to speculate and hope that it wouldn’t come to this. But how Briere has handled fate is textbook for the rest of us.
He’s been decisive – the kids stay in their home in Haddonfield, NJ outside of Philadelphia to continue their education.
They and he must accept that he will not be there during the hockey season – he’ll visit instead.
He’s likely to sign a short contract with another nearby east coast team and who knows, maybe he returns to the Flyers. (The collective bargaining agreement forbids the team taking a buyout from also then resigning the player for a period of one year).
Briere hoped against hope.
Accepted fate.
Showed gratitude by warmly thanking the fans.
And did what we must all do when faced with change.
“I have no regrets … I’m moving forward” – Danny Briere
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