The Flyers are bringing another keen hockey mind into the fold with the announcement Tuesday that Patrick Sharp will be joining the front office as a special advisor to hockey operations.
His main focus will be on the development of the organization's prospects and he'll report directly to general manager Danny Brière in the role.
As a player, Sharp was taken by the Flyers in the third round of the 2001 draft and was a budding forward within their prospect pipeline, though at a time when there was a logjam on the NHL roster.
With little room to grow, he was dealt to Chicago in December 2005 for Matt Ellison and a third-round pick, and coupled with the arrivals of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews shortly after, his career took off.
He was a vital part of the Blackhawks' run of Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013, and 2015, averaging around 15-35 goals per season during that stretch and earning an All-Star nod in 2011, which led to revisionist history among many Flyers fans painting him (and another rising forward in Justin Williams) as the one who got away.
It took a long way back to Philadelphia, but now the 41-year-old will play a part in trying to ensure that doesn't happen to the Flyers again.
Keith Jones, the club's president of hockey operations, has some familiarity working with Sharp as they overlapped as in-studio analysts for NBC Sports after Sharp retired in 2018.
“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 a statement. “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.”
Sharp also worked as an analyst and color commentator for the Blackhawks' coverage on NBC Sports Chicago after retirement and was an advisor to the University of Vermont's coaching staff - his alma mater – for the past two collegiate seasons.
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