Rick Tocchet will fill out his staff as the Flyers' incoming head coach, but Brad Shaw won't be a part of it.
Shaw, who finished this past season as the team's interim coach, has elected not to return to Philadelphia, as AllPHLY's Charlie O'Connor was first to report on Thursday night.
Shaw was given the interim reins with nine games left this past season after Brière fired former bench boss John Tortorella.
Under Shaw, the Flyers finished the year 5-3-1 and appeared to play a much more relaxed game following a 1-10-1 spiral through March that led to Tortorella's firing. However, they did end the schedule on a low note of three consecutive losses with an 0-2-1 stretch.
Shaw was brought in to be a part of Tortorella's staff three years ago as an assistant coach tasked with overseeing the defense and the penalty kill.
His guidance was pivotal in the career rebounds of Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, Nick Seeler, and – before he was dealt away at last year's trade deadline – Sean Walker, while Shaw also helped to get young blueliners such as Cam York, Emil Andrae, and Jamie Drysdale more established as NHL regulars.
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The 61-year-old grew into a highly respected figure within the locker room and among the organization, and when the season ended, Brière said Shaw would be in the running for the full-time gig back when the Flyers were only at the outset of their coaching search.
Tocchet ended up choosing to leave his post in Vancouver, though, which made the former Flyer available, and the route the organization ultimately took.
Shaw has said on multiple occasions, especially late into this past season, that he's enjoyed his run in Philadelphia but didn't appear interested in staying on as an assistant under Tocchet after the Flyers made their decision.
It'll be one of Tocchet's first orders of business to fill in that significant blank.
The Flyers will officially introduce Tocchet as their head coach with a press conference later Friday morning at the Wells Fargo Center.
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