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Philly’s Briere acknowledges contract buyout is likely

Ottawa Senators v Philadelphia Flyers

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 07: Danny Briere #48 of the Philadelphia Flyers waves to the crowd after scoring the game winning goal in overtime and a hat trick against the Ottawa Senators at Wells Fargo Center on January 7, 2012 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

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Just one day after Ilya Bryzgalov discussed the prospect of Philly buying him out, his teammate was asked about a similar scenario.

Daniel Briere, the 35-year-old forward with two years left on his deal, said on Thursday he realizes he’s a likely candidate to be amnestied this summer as the Flyers look to get to the $64.3 million salary ceiling for 2013-14.

Here’s more, from CSN Philly’s Tim Panaccio:

[Briere] admitted on Thursday he’s playing to remain a Flyer, and that he understands amnesty is a legitimate obstacle right now. He almost concedes it’s going to happen this summer, regardless.

“Definitely,” he said. “It’s reality. There’s no doubt about it. But at the same time, those are things I can’t control at this moment. All I can control is for me to come back into the lineup and play as good as I can, to show them. Other than that, I can’t worry about injuries or what they are going to decide to do. That’s out of my control at this point.

“It was agreed by both the players and owners. So no, I can’t complain about that. I end up being the one to pay the price. But you know what, there have been so many good things that turned in my favor over the years that I won’t complain about that.”

Briere signed an eight-year, $52 million deal in 2007. While he’s already collected $47 million in salary (he’s owed just $3 million next year and $2 million in 2014-15), there’s still the issue of his cap hit, which is $6.5 million in each of the next two years.

With the Flyers facing salary cap issues next year -- they currently have $65 million on the books, according to CapGeek -- it stands to reason they’ll part ways with Briere, who’ll turn 36 in October and has seen his point totals drop from 68 in 2010-11, to 49 last year, to just 13 this year (though he’s only appeared in 26 games).

Should he get bought out, Briere will likely be a target for teams looking for veteran leadership. He has 109 points in 108 playoff games and had 13 in 11 for the Flyers last year.

That said, Briere’s made it clear he wants to remain in Philadelphia.

“I believe in this team,” he said. “I want to be here. I can’t control if they decide to buy me out, but this is where I want to be at this point.

“I want to be here and I will try everything in my power to stay here.”