Rumor: Danny Briere set to retire

[SheasRebellion6]

I never really liked his brand of hockey either. Whether it was a clutch shootout goal helping propel us to the playoffs or a clutch playoff goal helping propel us to even more playoff hockey, all I could ever think was, "can you stop doing this so I don't have to watch you play anymore?"

In all seriousness though, he was responsible for the string of crappy techno goal songs we've had recently. So there is that to take into consideration. Then again he was also largely responsible for our string of exciting although heartbreaking (but totally worth it) playoff appearances/runs. Not perfect, but pretty bleeping good especially when it mattered the most.

 

[GKJ]

Remember when he was getting booed in his first year?

 

[Toonces]

I hated Briere when he came to Philly, thought he was soft, I couldn't have been more wrong.

In my 25 or so years following the team it's nearly impossible to think of a player who wanted to win more than Danny. Small player, gigantic heart, and he'll always be missed by this hockey fan.

 

[Halladay]

Still remember that double ot goal he while with sabres the year following lockout. One of my favorite players.

 

[Sawdalite]

Remember when he was getting booed in his first year?

He played through a bad shoulder injury his first Season here which cut back on his Goal scoring significantly... I remember late in the Season that when he did score, he couldn't give his signature fist uppercut move -- or whatever you want to call it -- due to the lack of immobility... The thing is that while many people were upset that they didn't get as advertised, when in fact they got a warrior who played through his injury and did as best he could.

 

[Sawdalite]

A funny story about Danny that one of the players related after the fact... when he was gone, IIRC; During a play where Danny seemingly got and put out, the Teammate skated over to him with concern... Danny said to him something like, "Go away, I'm trying to draw a penalty here".



Danny was a dirty little bugger with a choirboy smile... He would do whatever he could to get an advantage for the Team, but often do it in a manner were he appeared to be innocent... Not really unusual, but more so when you are really quite dirty of a player. IMO, I believe that he knew he was a little player who needed a leg up in the battle... The difference I see between him and Kimmo who were b0th undersized was that able to hang with the big boys and often give as much as he took with much bigger opponents, while Danny could not and did whatever he could to level the ice... with the knowledge that getting caught would hurt his team... so he learned to be sneaky and get away with things others might not have. Just a personal observation.

 

[Random Forest]

Still remember that double ot goal he while with sabres the year following lockout. One of my favorite players.

My favorite was in game 1 against New Jersey in 2012 when he scored the OT goal, had it disallowed, then scored the OT winner for real minutes later.

He's by far my favorite NHL player of all time. Some really special moments in here: