Philadelphia Flyers associate coach Brad Shaw still in the running for Washington and Anaheim head coaching jobs

Philadelphia Flyers associate coach Brad Shaw is still in the running for the vacant head coaching positions in Anaheim and Washington, according to Anthony Di Marco of The Fourth Period.

Anaheim Ducks former head coach Dallas Eakins was fired in April, 2023 after four seasons with the team. The former NHL player turned professional coach never once led the Ducks to a better than .500 record in the four seasons there and compiled a record of 100-147-44. Eakins had a highly successful AHL coaching career with the Toronto Marlies and San Diego Gulls, but couldn’t translate that into NHL success.

The Washington Capitals fired Peter Laviolette the same day that the Ducks fired Eakins. Laviolette coached the Capitals for three seasons, losing in the first round in each of the first two, then missing the playoffs entirely in the third and final season with the club. Laviolette is one of the most experienced coaches in the NHL and he won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005-06.

It has been a long time coming for the Flyers associate coach. Shaw began his coaching career with the Detroit Vipers of the IHL as a player assistant coach in the late 1990s. He worked his way up to becoming the head coach of the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the AHL for three seasons from 2003-05.

Aside from a half-season stint as the head coach of the New York Islanders in 2005-06, Shaw has been consistently behind the bench as an assistant or associate coach in the NHL for the last 15 years. He spent five years as the assistant coach for the St. Louis Blues, before becoming an associate coach there for the next four seasons. He was behind the bench for the club’s 2015-16 conference finals run.

The next five seasons were spent as the assistant coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He then coached one year for the Vancouver Canucks as an assistant before joining the Flyers as an associate coach this past season. Shaw is more than past due to get a good look as an NHL head coach. He could be behind the bench as a head coach as early as next season with the Capitals or Ducks.