Stanley Cup Heroes, Part 3: Next Level Playoff Demon
What if I told you there is a player in the 21st century that has more playoff points than Steven Stamkos, Pavel Datsyuk, Kris Letang and Tyler Seguin despite playing less games than each of those players? Well, he exists and he finished his career with just 2 all-star game appearances to his name and less career points than each player I mentioned. His name is Daniel Brière.
Yes, Philadelphia’s current GM was a playoff legend. Throughout his career, the diminutive 5’9” forward developed the reputation as a playoff riser. He averaged 0.71 points per game in the regular season and 0.94 points per game in the playoffs. Even though he started his career with the Coyotes, he is best known for his years with the Sabres and Flyers. His best year came in 2010.
The 2010 Flyers are an insane story that deserves so much more than a single post (they deserve a video essay or a documentary). For now, I will tell you that they entered the playoffs as the 7th seed and went on a magical run to the Cup Final. Brière was great before the Cup Final, putting up 18 points in 17 games. However, he somehow found another gear in the Cup Final.
The Flyers faced the Chicago Blackhawks, the earliest version of the Kane-Toews teams. Their D-core was LOADED. There was future Hall of Famer Duncan Keith, the beast known as Dustin Byfuglien, shut down D-man Niklas Hjalmarsson, great point producer Brian Campbell and the ever reliable Brent Seabrook. Virtually every single one of them were 26 or younger. The only exception was Campbell who was 30.
They only gave up more than 3 goals in a game twice throughout their entire playoff run before the Final. This should’ve been the worst nightmare for an offense-first team like Philly. Especially for an undersized forward like Daniel Brière. Somehow, he thrived.
In 6 games, Brière put up 3 goals and 9 assists for a total of 12 points. I’m not a big fan of plus/minus, but it’s also worth noting that Brière was a +5, only 2 players between both teams had a better +/-.
All this leads into my favourite stat of all time:
In the last 50 years, only 3 players have accumulated 12 or more points in a single Stanley Cup Final. They are:
Wayne Gretzky
Mario Lemieux
Daniel Brière
The 2 greatest players of all time… and Daniel Brière. There have been some close calls. McDavid nearly joined this club in 2024, but couldn’t get past 11 in 7 games. Brière got 12 in 6.
Before any of you suggest or even think that Brière padded his stats, you need to read this next part. Each of his goals gave Philly the lead in a tied game. None of his assists came on an empty netter.
His points were not just for show, he nearly willed this team to a Stanley Cup. All while the eventual Conn Smythe winner Toews was floundering, unable to produce anything (only had 3 points, none were goals) nor stop the Flyers (-5).
Brière would’ve already gone down as a playoff legend, but his run in 2010 made him a Stanley Cup Hero.
