‘It’s really scary!’: Daniel Briere speaks wholeheartedly with victims of the Lewiston massacre

For nearly five years, Daniel Briere learned his second career skills in Maine, near where the terrible Lewiston massacre took place. The man who now serves as general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers was directly affected by the tragedy.

“It’s really scary! All my thoughts are with the families of the victims,” ​​the former forward, who played 973 NHL games, said casually as he recalled. the Newspaper.

Shortly after his retirement, Briere joined the Flyers organization. Beginning in June 2017, he successively held the positions of Vice President of Hockey Operations, General Manager and President of the Maine Mariners, an ECHL affiliate of the Flyers located in Portland, 45 minutes from Lewiston.

When the unfortunate events occurred Tuesday, Briere immediately feared the worst, especially since his son, Cameron, works for the organization as a video coach.

“We have all the hockey staff working close by there. My son is on the team. You imagine the worst on your first thoughts. “It’s very sad for the people who have lost loved ones and their families,” he added.

No loved ones were affected

Although the shock was difficult to comprehend, Briere noted that at first glance, no one in the Flyers organization was directly affected by the events.

“Last I heard, everyone in our organization is fine, but there are a lot of people who have lost loved ones, friends, and families. It’s really hard for the rest of them,” he muttered.

For Briere, there’s a reason to feel cold. Until February of last year, he spent his daily life with the Mariners in Maine.

He remembers an exhibition game his team played a few years ago at Androscoggin Bank Coliseum, a small 4,000-seat amphitheater in Lewiston.

“I keep thinking that maybe I’ve met people who got caught up in all this madness.

“I’ve been with the team for five years. I spent a lot of time in Maine with people in the community there. I worked closely with many of the people who are still around in the team offices. It hurts when you think about how close these events were to you.” “Just knowing my son is there is scary,” he said.

United to support

According to Briere, the Flyers are already reaching out to people in the Lewiston community about how to organize help. The team also intends to join the efforts of the Boston Bruins, some of whose players play for the Mariners.

“We want to help and we will all work together,” promised Briere, still unable to accept the idea that such a murderous madness could have struck Maine, which is usually so peaceful.

“I could never have imagined such a tragedy in Maine. It’s so close to Quebec that it’s almost part of our home, in a way.”

“It’s not really my goal to get into the political side, but all I can say is that it still forces you to ask a lot of questions.”