On March 27th, the Philadelphia Flyers made a splash in hockey by firing their head coach, John Tortorella. Although some sources first reported that Tortorella had stepped down, general manager Briere made it overwhelmingly clear that Tortorella was not given a choice of whether or not he would remain a part of the organization. This was surprising to many, as it was assumed that Tortorella would likely transition to a front-office role for the Flyers after the conclusion of his memorable yet tumultuous coaching career.
Enter Brad Shaw, a man who hasn't taken as many harsh words from Flyers fans as his coaching counterpart, Rocky Thompson. Shaw has been an integral part of the Flyers' penalty kill success in the 2023-24 season and perhaps the individual who deserves the most credit for the exponential growth seen in the play of Travis Sanheim, Jamie Drysdale, and Rasmus Ristolainen.
Penalty Kill
In 2023-24, the Flyers' PK was ranked fourth in the NHL with 83.4%. Even more impressive, the Flyers led the league with 16 short-handed goals in their 82 games. Thus far in 2024-25, the Flyers find themselves 17th in the league with their penalty kill coming in at a below league average 77.4% and have notched nine short-handed goals.
Although the 2024-25 penalty kill numbers are less impressive than those of the previous year, the Flyers' goaltending is also the worst in the NHL. Without solid goaltending, it's no secret that a team's penalty kill success will plummet along with their position in the standings.
Defensive Development
Travis Sanheim
The Flyers' number one "roving" defenseman, Travis Sanheim, has shown that his gargantuan contract extension may actually be a steal given his recent play. Over the past two years, Sanheim has shown that he can truly be a shut-down defenseman but also an offensive weapon if given the time and space to do so.
At the age of 28, it appears Sanheim can hold his own as a top-pair defenseman who can remain healthy, even when playing up to 25-30 minutes a night. Although his offensive production has tapered in the second half of the 2024-25 season, his value in the Flyers' defense core has been solidified for the foreseeable future.
Jamie Drysdale
Acquired in the Cutter Gauthier trade, Drysdale's play has been under a microscope since the moment he donned a Flyers uniform for the first time. Fans were furious that Gauthier refused to play for the Flyers when he turned pro for the 2024-25 season. Even given the external pressures involved in reluctantly trading Gauthier, Briere somehow managed a respectable return in a highly touted but underperforming 21-year-old Jamie Drysdale.
For the first time since his initial acquisition, fans are beginning to see #9 come into his own by joining transition rushes, offensive zone cycling, and improved defensive zone reliability. Following his recovery from his second upper-body injury in the fall of 2024, Drysdale has finally been showing fans why he was taken sixth overall in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Rasmus Ristolainen
The hulking, right-shot defenseman, most affectionately called "Risto," has been plagued by injury for the majority of his career. Given a contract that some may have considered an overpay before this year, Ristolainen played his way into the good graces of fans, Flyers management, as well as GMs across the league.
Not only has Ristolainen shown remarkable abilities in acting as a "stay at home" defenseman, but he has even found himself joining offensive rushes and using his size to his advantage in delivering jarring hits to the opposition nearly every night. The 30-year-old Finn also has been a staple on the Flyers' penalty kill.
Shaw's Career
Beginning his playing career in the OHL with the 1981 Ottawa 67's, Shaw turned pro in 1984 where he was a member of the Binghamton Whalers of the AHL. He then shared his time between the AHL and NHL until 1988, when he played for the Hartford Whalers. In 1992, he was traded to the Ottawa Senators, where he spent three seasons.
Shaw then played four years in the IHL (International Hockey League) from 1994 until 1998-99, where he concluded his playing career after suiting up for 16 games between the NHL's Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues.
After five years as a head coach in the IHL and AHL, he made the playoffs twice (2003-04 and 2004-05) with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. However, his squad lost in round one and round two of the AHL playoffs.
In 2005, Shaw was appointed assistant coach of the New York Islanders and found himself as the interim head coach for 40 games, where he earned an 18-18-4 record. For the following five years, he was an assistant coach and then an associate coach from 2012-16 for the St. Louis Blues. During his four years an associate coach, the Blues made the playoffs but exited in Round 1 from 2012-2015 and Round 3 in 2016.
From 2016-2020, Brad Shaw was an assistant coach under Tortorella and made no playoff appearances with the Columbus Blue Jackets. In 2021-22 he was also an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks until he joined the Flyers as an associate coach alongside Tortorella in the 2022-23 season. Needless to say, the duo of Shaw and Torts haven't qualified for the NHL playoffs during their Flyers' tenure.
Future Considerations?
Could Shaw be the "next man up" for Briere's Flyers? Or will he and Keith Jones take on the task of hiring a fresh set of coaches? The writing is most definitely on the wall for forward and power-play coach Rocky Thompson to also be let go by the team this summer. Perhaps the next coaching regime will be completely free of any semblance of Tortorella's coaching antics, and the Flyers' brass will clean house.
It seems that most have already assumed Shaw will not be the head coach of the Flyers next season due to his lack of head coaching experience and minimal playoff success at both the AHL and NHL levels. This decision is one of many absolutely crucial choices Danny Briere will need to make regarding the immediate and long-term future of the Philadelphia Flyers.