BRIERE BUYOUT
Daniel Briere will be an unrestricted free agent shortly, with the Philadelphia Flyers deciding to buy him out.
A source told ESPN.com that Briere and Paul Holmgren met last week, at which time the Flyers GM informed the veteran center of the team’s decision. No bitter feelings, though, as I’m told Briere feels Holmgren handled it with class.
The buyout will wipe out Briere’s $6.5-million cap hit for the next two seasons.
What remains to be seen is whether the Flyers will buy out goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, a decision that has been met with mixed opinions within the Flyers front office.
The decision is whether to do it now or wait one more year, when they can still get a cap-friendly buyout.
Perhaps what might push the Flyers into buying out Bryz now is the availability of young netminder Jonathan Bernier from the Los Angeles Kings.
My TSN colleague Bob McKenzie reported during our Insider Trading segment Tuesday night that the Flyers, Maple Leafs and Islanders were among the most interested teams that coveted Bernier.
One source told ESPN.com Tuesday that there are five teams now with serious interest in Bernier, the list cut down from the nearly dozen clubs that poked around on him.
