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Brad Shaw

Devils Hire Brad Shaw As Assistant Coach

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May 27: The Devils confirmed Shaw’s hiring this morning. He’ll join the club officially on July 1 after his contract with the Flyers expires.

May 21: The Devils are expected to hire former Flyers associate/interim head coach Brad Shaw in some capacity, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports. He’ll likely serve as Sheldon Keefe’s top assistant instead of landing any of the four remaining head coach vacancies around the league.

Shaw, 61, nearly had his interim tag removed after taking over for John Tortorella in the final weeks of the regular season but fell to second in the pecking order when former Canucks bench boss Rick Tocchet became available. The possibility of Shaw remaining on Tocchet’s staff remained open for a couple of days after the latter signed a five-year contract, but the club confirmed last week that he wasn’t going to return.

Long regarded as one of the better defensive-minded coaches in the league, he’ll now head to a New Jersey club that already fared well in that department at even strength last season. In the Devils’ first year under Keefe, they ranked highly in limiting shot attempts against (7th), expected goals against (6th) and scoring chances against (9th). New Jersey also had the league’s second-best penalty kill in the regular season at 82.7%. Less impressive was their ability to limit high-danger chances, ranking 13th in the league at 5-on-5 in HDCA – one spot below Shaw’s Flyers.

That will likely be Shaw’s main area of focus in the Garden State, along with helping youngsters like Seamus Casey, Luke Hughes, and Simon Nemec emerge with more well-rounded skillsets defensively. But with few on-ice personnel changes expected and another strong season from starting goaltender Jacob Markström, Shaw’s addition to the ranks should only boost New Jersey’s already well-tuned team defense that had the club rank fifth in the league with 2.68 goals against per game in 2024-25.

It won’t be Shaw’s first time coaching in the New York metro area. He spent one year on the Islanders’ bench as an assistant and even took over as their interim head coach when the club fired Steve Stirling midway through the 2005-06 campaign.

Metropolitan Notes: Shaw, Chatfield, Sandin, Eller

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Yesterday, Flyers general manager Daniel Brière confirmed an earlier report that associate coach and briefly interim head coach Brad Shaw won’t be back with the team next season. According to Jonathan Bailey of The Hockey News, Shaw wasn’t enthused about going through the interview process a second time to remain a part of new head coach Rick Tocchet’s staff after finishing as the runner-up to Tocchet in head coaching interviews over the past few weeks.

“He called me yesterday and said he didn’t feel like he could fully invest himself going through the [interview] process again to see if he was to be part of [Tocchet’s] staff moving forward,” Brière said.

Now with 21 years of experience as an assistant/associate and interim head coach on NHL benches, Shaw is likely going to emerge as a candidate for at least one of the league’s four remaining head coach vacancies in Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Seattle. He reportedly received interest from the Capitals and Ducks in 2023’s hiring cycle.

“We’re really appreciative of what Brad has done,” Brière said. “He’s helped a lot of our young guys on defense, especially, and he was considered.”

We have more from the Metropolitan Division:

  • When the Hurricanes won Game 5 of the second round against the Capitals to advance to the Eastern Conference Final, they did so without the services of defenseman Jalen Chatfield. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour is hopeful but uncertain regarding his status for the beginning of the third round, Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer relays.
  • On the other side of the Carolina/Washington coin, Caps defenseman Rasmus Sandin is expected to join Sweden’s blue line at the World Championship, according to Hockeynews.se’s Henrik Sjoberg. Sweden’s roster is at the 22-skater maximum, so they’ll presumably be dropping a player (likely one of defenseman Gabriel Carlsson or forward Christoffer Ehn, neither of whom has played in the tournament yet) to make room for him. The Swedes are dominating the tournament on home ice, going undefeated through six group stage games and recording three consecutive shutouts against Latvia, Slovenia, and France. Sandin previously suited up for them at the 2023 Worlds.
  • Still in Washington, pending UFA center Lars Eller told Sammi Silber of The Hockey News he has every intention to keep playing next season (article link via DC Backcheck). “I’ll definitely keep playing. My body feels good,” Eller said. The 36-year-old Dane was limited to 22 points in 80 games split between the Penguins and Capitals this year, recording under 0.30 points per game for the second time in the last three years. Whether his future is in Washington, elsewhere in the NHL, or in Europe remains to be seen.

Brad Shaw Won’t Return To Flyers

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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.

Metro Notes: Smith, Crosby, Shaw, Shanahan

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David Pagnotta from The Fourth Period reports that the Pittsburgh Penguins have contacted coach D.J. Smith regarding their head coaching vacancy. Smith, an associate coach with the Los Angeles Kings, has reportedly interviewed for multiple head coaching vacancies around the league.

It hasn’t been long since he’s been a head coach. Smith was the head coach of the Ottawa Senators from the 2019-20 season until he was fired on December 18 of last year. He finished his tenure in Ottawa with a 131-154-32 record in 317 games without ever leading the team to the postseason. Under Smith’s stewardship, the Senators never finished higher than 18th in GF or 20th in GA.

According to Josh Yohe of The Athletic, it doesn’t sound like captain Sidney Crosby will have much say in the Penguins’ next choice for head coach, but that’s by choice. When pressed on why he didn’t want a say in the process, Crosby replied, “Because, ultimately, I’m a hockey player. I’m not out there coaching games. I am not a manager.” The 20-year veteran clarified his statement further, saying, “If he wants my opinion on someone who’s out there, and someone who is out there that I might have had as a coach before or someone I’ve heard about, then sure, then I’ll share my opinion.”

Other notes from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Although the Philadelphia Flyers ultimately hired Rick Tocchet as their next head coach, their most recent head coach was one of the finalists. Pagnotta reported that now-former interim head coach Brad Shaw was nearly hired for the full-time job, and there’s a possibility he remains on Tocchet’s staff as an assistant. Shaw guided the Flyers to a 5-3-1 record in their final nine games of the 2024-25 NHL season.
  • According to The Athletic’s Arthur Staple, Brendan Shanahan could be a name to look out for regarding the New York Islanders’ President of Hockey Operations and General Manager vacancies. Shanahan has served as the Toronto Maple Leafs’ President since the 2014-15 season, and his contract expires on June 30th this summer. Should Toronto fail to reach the Stanley Cup Final or Eastern Conference Final, Staple believes the Islanders could encourage Shanahan to make a lateral move to the East Coast, and hire Toronto’s special assistant to the General Manager, Shane Doan, as their next General Manager.

Metro Notes: Flyers, Perevalov, McIlrath

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As one of the several teams looking for a new head coach this offseason, the Philadelphia Flyers are taking their time with the search. In a new article from Kevin Kurz of The Athletic, the Philadelphia-based journalist publicized the most recent developments from the Flyers organization.

As expected, Kurz indicates the Flyers are monitoring Rick Tocchet’s situation in Vancouver, as he’s viewed as their favorite candidate. Philadelphia won’t be allowed to engage with Tocchet until his contract formally expires on June 30th, but the Flyers will have interest if he doesn’t extend with the Canucks.

The only candidate that Kurz explicitly stated isn’t considered a fit is David Carle from the University of Denver, who recently withdrew his name from consideration for the Chicago Blackhawks. As other potential candidates, Kurz reports that Joel Quenneville and Western Michigan University’s Pat Ferschweiler haven’t been ruled out, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Flyers will target either.

Lastly, after the Flyers dismissed three of their assistant coaches last week, Kurz believes this indicates the team will retain Brad Shaw as an assistant coach. Before being named the team’s interim head coach toward the end of the 2024-25 campaign, Shaw served as Philadelphia’s associate coach for approximately three years.

Other happenings from the Metropolitan Division:

  • The Carolina Hurricanes won’t have one of their 2022 draft selections for at least one more year. In a report from Sport42, Hurricanes prospect Alexander Perevalov has agreed to a one-year extension with the VHL’s Metallurg Novokuznetsk. Perevalov got off to a bad start last season, scoring three goals and six points in 21 games for the Omskie Krylia. Still, he rebounded nicely upon joining Metallurg, tallying eight goals and 23 points in 26 contests.
  • Similarly to Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj, the Department of Player Safety has fined Washington Capitals defenseman Dylan McIlrath $2,018.23 for unsportsmanlike conduct in yesterday’s pre-game warm-up. Again, the league didn’t share any specifics of the altercation, but video footage indicates the two sharing words with several members of the opposing teams.

Flyers Notes: Coaching Search, Ristolainen, Ersson

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At the end of March, it was confirmed that the Philadelphia Flyers will be among several teams seeking a new head coach this summer. Considering this, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia provided various updates regarding the Flyers’ head coaching search as summer approaches.

First, Hall reported that the Flyers are not following a strict timeline for their search, and they will conduct all research internally instead of hiring an external firm for assistance. They’ll start their research at the base level, as Hall indicated that Philadelphia hasn’t begun making a short list yet. Still, General Manager Daniel Brière confirmed Brad Shaw will be interviewed after serving as the team’s interim head coach for the last month of the regular season.

According to Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Inquirer, unfortunately, the hottest name on the coaching market, David Carle of the University of Denver, isn’t considered a serious candidate for the job. Hall shared that Brière would like to start adding to the team rather than subtracting from it, and that change in philosophy should affect their eventual hire. Given the mixture of youth and veterans on the roster, the Flyers will want to find a coach who can blend development with contention.

To hypothesize, Jay Woodcroft is likely the top available option for coaches with considerable experience with development and the playoffs. Woodcroft guided the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors to a Pacific Division Playoff Championship in 2020-21, before coaching the Edmonton Oilers to the Western Conference Finals a year later.

Other notes from Philadelphia:

  • As reported by Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports, Brière commented on the status of defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, whose season prematurely ended due to an upper-body injury. Unfortunately, Ristolainen’s upper-body issue was confirmed as an arm injury, similar to the one that ended his 2023-24 season in February. Ristolainen underwent surgery to repair the injury and may not start the 2025-26 season on time. As a potential trade candidate for the Flyers heading into the offseason, the recent injury history and delayed start to next year may preclude Philadelphia from receiving any worthwhile offers for their Finnish blueliner.
  • In a separate injury update from Hall, netminder Samuel Ersson admitted to a lingering lower-body injury that plagued him most of the season. Unsurprisingly, something was afflicting Ersson, as he had an up-and-down campaign, which, admittedly, is more than the other Flyers netminders can say. After maintaining a .902 SV% through the first two months of the regular season, Ersson’s SV% dropped to an. .874 mark from December through March.

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