Flyers governor Dan Hilferty on Tortorella's firing, search for a coach, salary cap spending and more

New York Times

04-04-2025

PHILADELPHIA — Dan Hilferty has been around long enough to know what he doesn't know.
When the longtime health insurance executive was introduced a little more than two years ago as the new chairman and CEO of the Philadelphia Flyers' parent company Comcast-Spectacor, Hilferty acknowledged that when it came to the team that he was now overseeing, he had only ever looked at it through the everyday fan's lens. The intricacies of the sport and the various machinations of how the NHL operates were foreign.
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But Hilferty — previously the president and CEO of Independence Blue Cross until 2020, after serving in various leadership roles for other Philadelphia-based health companies — is also aware of what has made him successful.
While the industry may have changed, the 68-year-old's vision of how to run a company did not.
'(I) was always involved in complex organizations,' Hilferty said this week in an exclusive interview with The Athletic. 'Coming in here, I knew that I have a leadership philosophy and a leadership strategy, and I was able to work that right away.'
But he still wanted to learn more about what he was seeing on the ice on a nightly basis. Hilferty is seen frequently in the Flyers' executive suite on the press level of Wells Fargo Center seated next to general manager Daniel Briere, president of hockey operations Keith Jones or various other key hockey operations personnel.
'Trying to switch my focus from a fan's perspective to, look, I'm the ultimate decision-maker,' Hilferty said. 'I'm the leader of the organization.'
'I can tell you two years into it … I'm seeing much more of the game. I'm beginning to assess talent — not that I'm going to make a decision on talent, but if asked a question, I feel comfortable answering the question.'
Hockey decisions are ultimately left to Briere and Jones, something everyone wanted to make clear in a joint press conference with Hilferty, Briere and Jones on May 12, 2023. That hasn't changed. Hilferty 'doesn't want to overstep' what he considers 'Keith and Danny's territory.'
A recent and consequential decision reflects that. The Flyers made what was perhaps their biggest headline of the 2024-25 season on March 27, firing coach John Tortorella. Hilferty was involved in what he called 'long conversations' about Tortorella's future with the organization, as the coach had one season to go on his contract, but 'in the end, Danny made the decision it was time.'
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'The reality for Danny and Keith, with me in the room listening — and agreeing, by the way — (it) just felt that it was time to make that change without showing any disrespect for what Torts had accomplished.'
Hilferty echoed Briere in suggesting that the Flyers dealing away players this season, making the team much less competitive, 'ultimately did wear on Torts.'
An important offseason is on the horizon, both from a hockey and business perspective. The Flyers will miss the playoffs for the sixth straight season, and are now a full 15 years removed from their most recent appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. Meanwhile, local teams such as the Super Bowl-winning Eagles and baseball's Phillies, a perennial playoff team, soak up most of the oxygen.
Many Flyers fans have seemingly been patient during the current rebuild and are understanding of the new regime's overall vision, at least according to Hilferty, who said the organization has a 90 percent renewal rate among its season-ticket base for next season despite a price hike.
'We have a very strong fan base that, in part, has been dormant in these past several years that I think we have really started to kindle or ignite their passion again,' Hilferty said.
But there's still work to do.
'We've been a little quiet for the past several years,' Hilferty said. 'We've got to rebuild that excitement.'
Here's what else we learned from Hilferty in an approximately 30-minute, wide-ranging interview in his office at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday.
The process to name a new coach won't fully ramp up until the NHL regular season concludes, Hilferty said, adding that the organization is concurrently 'assessing the current coaching structure,' he added.
'Ultimately it will be (Briere and Jones') decision,' he said, but Hilferty will be intimately involved in the process, in meetings and in interviews with potential candidates. And he can offer the kind of perspective that is perhaps different from the two men in charge of hockey operations.
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'Everywhere I've been… I've tried to build a culture of excellence and expectation that will achieve, and bringing as many people along as you can,' he said. 'That's what I'm going to look for in a coach. I want a level of charisma … someone who can relate to (the media), can relate to the fan base, and instills a level of excitement and commitment among the players and the rest of the staff — and a standard of excellence.'
That new coach will play a vital role in the ongoing rebuild.
'When we get to the point we're going to go after free agents … we want a player who's considering several options that check the box that, 'I can play for that guy' — in addition to the facilities, in addition to the commitment to excellence, in addition to the fan base,' Hilferty said.
Hilferty didn't say so, but the timeline on when the Flyers plan to start adding more talent has seemingly moved up, given some of the trades Briere has made in the past two seasons as well as rookie Matvei Michkov's earlier-than-expected arrival. In one of his more notable quotes in the aftermath of the firing of Tortorella last week, Briere said he hoped the organization had reached 'rock bottom' — the implication being that the Flyers would like to be more competitive next season.
That will probably take at least one major trade, and maybe even a mid-level free-agent addition or two. The ability to ink any big-name free agents who might be available is probably another year away, but Briere has given the organization some flexibility for this summer, too.
From Hilferty's perspective, 'I want to see continued improvement,' he said. 'I'd say expectation No. 2 (is) that the goalies will continue to improve, or we'll find a solution there, without getting into specifics.'
'In terms of adding, I think they're not going to add for the sake of adding,' Hilferty continued. 'It will have to be somebody that really has an impact at key positions of need. So my expectation is continued improvement. Maybe a couple younger guys will step up.'
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Playoffs or not, don't expect the Flyers to languish near the bottom of the league standings again next season — at least, not if all goes according to plan. Their marketing slogan for the past two seasons — 'A New Era of Orange' — will be retired, perhaps representative of their desire to move forward.
'I think we have a responsibility next year, however we define that next step in the rebuild, to achieve that next step in the rebuild,' Hilferty said. 'For me, as the fan, I'd love to see us compete for a spot in the playoffs.'
Brian Roberts, Comcast CEO and essentially the owner of the Flyers, was spotted in the executive suite sitting between Briere and Jones for the first two periods of their 2-1 win over Nashville at home on Monday. According to Hilferty, Roberts said he was coming after Michkov posted back-to-back two-goal games the previous week.
Hilferty said he and Roberts are in fairly constant communication about the club.
'The range of our conversations are from the fans' reactions, to what's going on with the goalies, to whatever it might be. I'd say we talk or text several times during a game, of if we're next to each other, we're chatting,' he said.
Hilferty continued: 'I feel as though he's my partner in this. A very significant and influential partner, but he's my partner in this.'
The NHL salary cap will rise fairly dramatically over the next few years. It jumps to $95.5 million next season, $104 million in 2026-27 and $113.5 million in 2027-28.
So, is it safe to say that Comcast won't have any reservations in spending to the cap? The answer from Hilferty wasn't a hard yes, but he did seem to indicate that it's not going to be an issue.
'Our goal is to contend for Stanley Cup championships over the course of a number of years,' Hilferty said. 'If our goal is to get there, we're going to have no qualms about going out and spending what we're able to spend in a hard-cap system.'
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'Starting from Brian on through his team, they allow me to lead. … There's excitement about the potential of the franchise, and (an) understanding that in order to compete, we're going to have to go out and find players, and have the resources to do that.'
Don't expect the Flyers to be involved in any outdoor or overseas games in 2025-26. But Hilferty, who got his first glimpse of the spectacle of outdoor hockey last season when the Flyers played the Devils at MetLife Stadium, suggested he'd like to see another involving the club sooner than later.
'They're years ahead planning these things, and we're always going to hang around the net to get an opportunity to get to participate,' he said.
One event he'd like to see is a potential recurring game between the Flyers and Penguins, perhaps on the campus of Penn State University, something that's been talked about since these games became annual.
'I brought it up to the league, and the Penguins as well. … One year there, and several years later, here,' Hilferty said. 'What if we played it at Beaver Stadium? (There's been) no commitment from the league, but I'd like to keep stoking the flames of that possibility.'
The Flyers under Hilferty have made it a point to try and reestablish what previous owner and Philadelphia sports icon Ed Snider built and stood for, including the annual 'Ed Snider Legacy Game' they've held each of the past two seasons.
Hilferty had no interest in criticizing the previous business-side leaders for what was perceived by many to be a move away from Snider's legacy. But, he acknowledged, 'it was a fertile field for us to pursue. There were opportunities there.'
'The ultimate titan of the franchise is Ed Snider,' Hilferty said. 'So we will always make sure that we honor that legacy and try to bring that same level of connectedness to the community.'
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When he's not sitting with Briere or Jones, on the concourse shaking hands, or hobnobbing with sponsors, Hilferty uses the same suite Snider and his family used at Wells Fargo Center when Snider was alive.
'He had a seat. He had a phone,' Hilferty said. 'The phone is gone. The seat stays empty.'
(Photos courtesy of Philadelphia Flyers)