Brad Shaw wants to be Flyers head coach: ‘It’s the pinnacle’

1 week ago  /  Broad Street Hockey  /  Read Time: 4 minutes 20 seconds

Brad Shaw tasted defeat for the first time as Philadelphia Flyers interim head coach over the weekend in Montreal. It was the team’s first loss since firing John Tortorella as they swept their three-game homestand thereafter.



There are only five games remaining in the season, so Shaw will only have nine games of experience as the (interim) bench boss. But there is a chance that he’s one of the favorites in the running to become the Flyers head coach on a full-time basis next season.









Shaw spoke on how he feels since taking over behind the bench and what’s next for him after the team’s practice on Monday morning.



“It’s the best job in coaching. It’s the pinnacle. I think everybody that coaches probably aspires to it,” he said. “It’s been great. It’s been a great experience.



You kind of forget how all-encompassing it is compared to being an assistant coach, so from that respect it kind of helps you keep a perspective on how sometimes the coach might not be in a good mood. There’s so many other things going on in his day outside of the Xs and Os and the structure of what’s happening on the ice. For most of the assistants, you have interactions with other players, but certainly not to the depth and/or the breadth of how many people you talk to in a day as a head coach.”



Shaw explained that he was initially a bit overwhelmed in those first few days, which can be understandable given the fact that the Flyers played a game less than 12 hours after Tortorella was fired. He’s since handed off some duties to other coaches and is settling in behind the bench.



“It’s really helped settle things down. I also feel way more comfortable kind of interacting from a little bit different point of view,” he said. “I haven’t been really given a mandate, so I’m not really in that position to talk from that point of view as far as passed these last few games, but up until that point, I’d like to try and keep things as coordinated and on track as possible.”



Anyone can understand the challenges of being thrust into a new, unexpected role. Shaw is doing his best to keep the guys in line.



“I think one of the biggest challenges is it’s kind of the substitute teacher role. We all remember school when the teacher was there and there was some pretty good discipline in the room, and as soon as you had that substitute teacher, certain people took advantage of that said substitute teacher,” Shaw laughed. “I think I pretty much know which guys are going to try that here, so I’ve tried to pre-empt it maybe with some of them and try to maybe watch it a little closer. But it’s kind of where we’re at.



“I don’t think I really have any way to really be that heavy-handed guy. I don’t. So it’s kind of a tough thing because I do have expectations, and I do have a type of game that I think leads to consistent success and can help a team achieve what we didn’t achieve this year.”



The Flyers came out of the gate hot under Shaw with three straight wins, but that didn’t mean that they were great performances by the Orange and Black.



“Even when we were winning the first three, I didn’t necessarily like how we were playing. Goals were going in the net and we were outscoring our mistakes, but how we were playing, I think it’s hard to sustain,” Shaw continued. “I think there’s a smarter game and a more team-based game that I think the majority of the teams that are going to continue after the midpoint of April do it and do it on a consistent basis. I think that’s something we have to get better at here, obviously.”



Shaw is on a shortlist of potential head coaching candidates for the Flyers. We’ve discussed a few of them since Tortorella was fired, and there aren’t a ton of great options out there, so could they just remove the interim tag?



“It’s only been three years, but I’ve loved my time here. It’s a unique city. I love the inherent pressure the fans put on you,” Shaw said. “I’ve never been booed more in three years in my life. But I think it’s good. It’s an extra indicator of what the fans think. They’re not always 100% accurate. There’s a couple times we got booed that I wasn’t really in agreement with it, but for the most part, it keeps you in check. It makes sure you are doing the little things better. So from that point of view, I’ve loved working here and I don’t know if I have to really tell Danny that I would like the job, I think it’s probably expected.”



Of course, there is a chance that Shaw could ultimately stick around as an assistant if the Flyers bring in a new head coach, but that might not be up to anyone currently in the organization.



“That would really be up to the new coach,” Shaw shrugged, “so it’s really not something you decide anyway.”



But make no mistake about it, Shaw has gotten the taste of being a head coach and wants a chance at the full-time gig.



“I’ve enjoyed my time here. The one thing that does happen when you get a little taste of head coaching, I’d really like to try it and really have the team from mid-summer. Do development camp, from Day 1 in camp you’re implementing what you think should happen,” he concluded. “I would love to try that. If that’s not in the cards, then I have really enjoyed my time here, but again, it’s almost always up to the coach coming in to decide that.”



Shaw has done a great job of developing defensemen like Rasmus Ristolainen and Jamie Drysdale since joining the Flyers. He’s not a bad choice to remain behind the bench if the Flyers want to give him a short-term contract to prove himself, but the front office could also want to go in a different direction.



Only time will tell.





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