When Brad Shaw steps behind the bench these days, it’s with a slightly different posture, a different pulse.
The suit’s the same. The stare behind the bench, laser-focused. But make no mistake—there’s a weight that comes with walking a mile in the head coach’s shoes. It’s heavier, fuller, more demanding than anything he’s carried before in his three years as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers. And Shaw, who took over on an interim basis after John Tortorella was let go by the organization in March, is feeling every bit of it.
“It’s the best job in coaching. It’s the pinnacle,” Shaw said. “So I think everybody that coaches probably aspires to it and it’s been great. You kind of forgot how all-encompassing it is compared to being an assistant coach.”
It’s a candid insight from a man who’s been around this league a long time. Shaw, 60, has seen the game from just about every angle—player, assistant coach, interim. But even for someone as experienced as him, this particular seat brings a different kind of gravity.
“There’s so many things going on in [a head coach’s] day outside of the X’s and O’s and the structure of what’s happening on the ice,” he added. “For most of the assistants, you have interactions with the coach or with other players, but certainly not to the depth or the breadth of how many people you talk to in a day as a head coach.”
He laughs when talking about the “substitute teacher” feel of stepping into the interim role—especially in the final stretch of a season where the Flyers have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.
“It’s kind of the substitute teacher role, right? We all remember school… as soon as you had that substitute teacher, certain people took advantage of said substitute teacher,” he said. “I think I pretty much know which guys are going to try that here, so I’ve tried to pre-empt it with some of them… but it’s kind of where we’re at.”
Where they’re at is a complicated spot. The Flyers were in the fight for much of the season, driven by a strong defensive identity and a roster that was more competitive than many predicted.
But an extended losing streak late in the year, combined with key injuries and offensive inconsistencies, put the brakes on the postseason hopes. The “E” beside their name in the standings—eliminated—hit hard.
“When you get that ‘E,’ it’s a tough pill to swallow,” Shaw admitted. “It’s a realization that, as a group, we didn’t get the job done. We didn’t accomplish what we set out to… and that can be a tough mental pill to swallow.”
In those moments, Shaw said, what starts to slip are the habits. The little things. The commitment to structure and consistency that Tortorella had tried to hammer home all season. And so, Shaw’s task over these final few games has been twofold: keep the group engaged, and ensure that the ...
