Former interim HC Brad Shaw won't return to Flyers

After ending the season as the Flyers’ interim head coach, associate coach Brad Shaw has informed the team he won’t be back next season on new boss Rick Tocchet’s staff, sources tell Charlie O’Connor of the ALLCITY Network.

The news means Tocchet will have the chance to fill his entire bench himself, aside from goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh, who’s slated to return for his 11th season on Philadelphia’s coaching staff. The Flyers announced last month they weren’t retaining their full complement of assistants under former head coach John Tortorella – Angelo Ricci, Rocky Thompson, and Darryl Williams.

Shaw was a finalist for the permanent job in Philly this summer and very well could have had his interim tag removed had Tocchet not become available by way of the Canucks. With the Blackhawks, Bruins, Kraken, and Penguins still searching for new head coaches this offseason, he likely believes he’s got a legitimate shot at landing one of those roles.

While the 61-year-old Shaw’s stops as an NHL head coach are few and far between, and he’s only ever been an interim boss, he’s got promising results. He coached a mediocre Islanders club to a .500 record over 40 games in the latter half of the 2005-06 season before finishing this year with a 5-3-1 record in Philly.

In between, the former Senators captain has stayed busy as an assistant/associate coach. He was on the Blues’ bench from 2006 to 2016 before joining the Blue Jackets from 2016 to 2021. He spent one season with the Canucks (and as an assistant for Italy at the 2022 Olympic qualifiers) before signing on with Philadelphia in 2022.