May 10, 2023
UPDATE [5/11, 9:25 a.m. ET] – Right on cue, the Flyers made it official.
Jones is the new president of hockey operations and Brière has shed the interim tag. He's the full-time GM now.
OFFICIAL: The Flyers have named Keith Jones to the position of President of Hockey Operations and named Daniel Briere to the position of General Manager. https://t.co/LqajwplUfC
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) May 11, 2023
EARLIER...
The Flyers' search for a new president of hockey operations looks like it ended up back at their own building, with Keith Jones believed to have accepted the job.
The former Flyer, who played several seasons for the team in the late 90s before moving into a highly successful broadcasting career, is expected to be announced as part of the organization's new front-office structure Thursday morning, per Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman.
Danny Brière is also expected to lose his interim tag Thursday morning and be officially made the full-time general manager.
Fellow former Flyer Chris Therien (via Crossing Broad's Anthony SanFilippo) on Wednesday evening was first to report, and The Philadelphia Inquirer later confirmed that same night.
As a player and then as a broadcaster in Philadelphia for around two decades now, Jones has been a well-liked figure among fans and the organization both, but his reported hiring, understandably, might be met with apprehension as far more decades of front-office hires from within have left the Flyers mired in mediocrity and with a fan base desperate for a different, more modernized direction.
Jones, however, is a highly knowledgeable hockey mind who excels at breaking down and communicating the game to others. But with that said, whether that knowledge and experience can apply to roster building and organizational decisions for a rebuild basically starting from scratch will have to be seen.
What can be gleaned from his hiring though, based on all his experience coming from the booth, is that the president of hockey ops will likely be a more forward-facing job for the Flyers going forward.
With Jones set to become the president of hockey ops, Brière staying on as the GM, John Tortorella returning as the head coach, and Dan Hilferty preparing to take over for Dave Scott as the team's governor, the Flyers will have their new front-office leadership group fully figured out heading into what's going to be a critical draft for them next month down in Nashville.
The Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli during the site's live show earlier Wednesday, originally reported that the Flyers' president of hockey ops search was coming to a close, with Jones being one of the finalists alongside fellow color commentator and former NHL player Eddie Olczyk.
Jones and Olczyk have both been part of TNT's broadcast crew since the network gained the NHL rights last year – and NBC for years before that – and with Jones' front-office hiring by the Flyers awaiting announcement, he'll be the second member from TNT to leave for an NHL job after another former Flyer, Rick Tocchet, was brought in by the Vancouver Canucks to be their head coach in the middle of this past season.
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