The Flyers never should have traded Patrick Sharp to begin with.

Now, five years after his playing career is over, a career that saw him win three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks, including one against his former team, Sharp is finally coming back to where it all began.

The Flyers announced Tuesday that Sharp, 41, is being hired as a Special Advisor to the Hockey Operations department.

In prepared statements, President Keith Jones and GM Dany Briere said the following:

“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,” said Jones. “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,” said Briere. “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.”

I was told that Sharp’s role is going to be “very similar” to the role Briere had under Chuck Fletcher, “with a big emphasis on our young players.”


Sharp was originally selected by the Flyers in the third round (95th overall) of the 2001 NHL Draft and was an alternate captain and one of the leading scorers on the 2005 Calder Cup Championship team with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League (AHL). Internationally, he represented Canada at the 2008 and 2012 IIHF World Championships and won a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Sharp fell out of favor as a young player with then-coach Ken Hitchcock, and was subsequently traded to Chicago along with Eric Meloche for Matt Ellison and a third round pick after playing just 66 games for the Flyers.

It turned out to be one of the worst trades Bob Clarke made in his multiple tenures as GM. Ellison was a slug and the third round pick, Ryan White, was no more than an NHL journeyman.

Meanwhile, Sharp collected 620 points (287 goals, 333 assists) in 939 career NHL games in 15 seasons (2002-18) with Philadelphia, Chicago and Dallas. He also tallied 87 points (47-40-87) in 142 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Since retiring, Sharp has spent the last five seasons in broadcasting with NBC Sports and NBC Sports Chicago in both studio and color commentary roles. He has also served as advisor to the University of Vermont coaching staff since September, 2021. Sharp attended Vermont for two seasons before signing his entry-level contract with the Flyers.