The Philadelphia Flyers parted ways with head coach John Tortorella on Thursday morning. Brad Shaw will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
The Flyers hired Shaw as an associate coach in the summer of 2022. He has been in charge of the team’s penalty-kill unit and defense since his arrival.
With a head coaching search now on the to-do list for general manager Daniel Briere this summer, here are five options for who could be the next head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Flyers Head Coach candidates
David Carle
David Carle’s name has been popular regarding NHL head coach vacancies for well over a year now. Carle, 35, has been the head coach at the University of Denver since 2018-19 and won two NCAA National Championships for the Pioneers in 2022 and 2024. Before becoming the head coach, he was an assistant from 2014-2018.
He was the head coach for the United States World Junior team in 2024 and 2025, where he won back-to-back gold medals. In January, Carle announced that he would not return as head coach of the World Junior team in 2026. He is also the brother of former Flyers defenseman Matt Carle.
The announcement of Carle leaving Team USA intensified rumors of a potential move to the NHL. His contract with the University of Denver runs until the end of the 2026-27 season. There is no guarantee a move to the NHL is on his radar yet, but he has received calls from NHL teams in the past.
Carle is a proven winner behind the bench. He won’t be a cheap hire, but he makes complete sense for the future of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Marc Savard
Former NHL player Marc Savard was hired as an assistant coach by the Toronto Maple Leafs last summer. Before joining Toronto, he was an assistant with the Calgary Flames and was the head coach of the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL. With the Spitfires, Savard had a record of 88-35-8-5 and led the team to the 2022 OHL Finals. His professional coaching career started back in 2019-20 as an assistant with the St. Louis Blues.
During his playing career, Savard played in 807 games and scored 706 points (207G, 499A).
Savard’s coaching philosophy emphasizes a fast-paced, skilled offensive style that allows his players to play freely. Since starting his professional coaching career, it hasn’t been “if”, but “when”, Savard will become a head coach in the NHL.
The Flyers’ opening could entice someone like Savard, who will have the chance to work with a gifted offensive-first player like Matvei Michkov.
Mitch Love
Mitch Love is currently serving as an assistant coach for the Washington Capitals. Before joining the Capitals, he was the head coach of the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers in 2022-23.
He guided the Wranglers to an AHL-best record of 51-17-0-4 during 2022-23 and won the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL’s most outstanding coach for the second consecutive season. He was the third coach in AHL history to win the award in back-to-back years.
Love is known for his ability to focus on player development, being detail-oriented, and demanding but in a non-aggressive style. He has been in charge of the Capitals’ defense since joining the organization. He is 40 years old and has already seen major success at the professional level.
Jay Woodcroft
Jay Woodcroft could be a contender for the Flyers. He was head coach of the Edmonton Oilers from 2021-24, finishing with a record of 79-41-13. He was fired by the Oilers in November 2023.
Woodcroft was seen spending a few days with the Flyers during training camp last September. He was invited by Tortorella to observe, learn, and add more to his craft while waiting for his next opportunity. There was no direct link to a coaching opportunity at that time, but now that Tortorella is out of Philadelphia, his name could pick up steam.
Woodcroft led the Bakersfield Condors to a Calder Cup victory in 2018-19 in his first season as head coach.
Brad Shaw
Shaw has gained interest from NHL teams in recent years regarding a head coaching role. He has done wonders for the Flyers’ penalty-kill since taking over as an associate, and has helped transformed the game’s of multiple players on the blue-line, most notably Rasmus Ristolainen.
A full-time head coaching role for Shaw seems more than likely in his future, and the remaining games for the Flyers this season could be his test run. It would make sense for the Flyers to keep him because of familiarity, but if a different direction is taken, Shaw should still be a strong candidate to stay on as an associate.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
