The Philadelphia Flyers are not done adding former players that became television broadcasters to their front office.
First it was hiring Keith Jones as the team’s President of Hockey Operations, and now it is Patrick Sharp.
Announced by the team on Tuesday afternoon, the Flyers have hired Sharp as a Special Advisor to Hockey Operations.
“In adding Patrick Sharp to our group, we are gaining an individual who has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to building an environment of winning at all levels,” Jones said in the team’s press release. “Patrick knows what it takes to win, he understands how to convey that to our players and is a relationship maker. He will be a vital component as we continue to build the foundation of the Philadelphia Flyers.”
“I am proud to announce the addition of Patrick Sharp to our hockey operations team,” Flyers general manager Danny Briere said. “Patrick is a well-established veteran on-and-off the ice and his incomparable hockey knowledge will be a valuable asset to our organization and young prospects.”
The 41-year-old has spent the last five years as part of the NBC Sports and NBC Sports Chicago broadcasts.
Sharp’s exact responsibilities as a special advisor to the Flyers’ hockey operations were not included in the team’s intial release, but this position is typically just to get another voice in the room and a starting point for a former player to get into a team’s front office. Briere himself was hired as the Special Assistant to the General Manager back in 2015, which eventually led to him getting the main job eight years later.
Some other examples of similar positions was Jason Spezza and currently Shane Doan with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vincent Lecavalier with the Montreal Canadiens, and Roberto Luongo with the Florida Panthers. Again, it is essentially a path for former big-name players to get into management roles without taking up one of the premier and more official front office positions.
Just like those other former players to their new employers, Sharp has a connection to Philadelphia. Drafted by the Flyers in the third round in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Sharp then spent four years in the organization before he was traded in Dec. 2005 to the Chicago Blackhawks. He would then carve out his top-tier status, playing in 749 games for the Blackhawks and winning three Stanley Cups – the first over his former Flyers in 2010.
Whether Sharp really has the hockey mind to make it in management or is just another former player that got a job in Philadelphia is to be determined.
