Frederick Alexander Shero (October 23, 1925 – November 24, 1990) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach, and general manager. Nicknamed "The Fog", he played for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL), but spent most of his playing career in the minor leagues. Following his playing career, Shero spent 13 years coaching in the minor leagues before making it to the NHL. As the head coach of the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers, Shero won the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975 and reached the Stanley Cup Final a third time, in 1976. He also had four consecutive seasons of having a 0.700 or better winning percentage and remains the Flyers all-time leader in coaching victories. Shero controversially left the Flyers following the 1977–78 season to become the head coach of the New York Rangers, whom he led to the Stanley Cup Final in his first season. He resigned from the Rangers after coaching for less than three seasons. Shero had a unique style of coaching that led to several innovations that are still used today. He was the first coach to hire a full-time assistant coach, employ systems, have his players use in season strength training, study film, and he was one of the first coaches to utilize a morning skate. In 2013 Shero was recognized for his contributions when he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder.
He was known for his enigmatic and introverted personality often appearing or disappearing from a room unnoticed, or being completely lost in thought. He often left philosophical sayings on a chalkboard as a way of provoking thought or as a motivational tool. Prior to game six of the 1974 Stanley Cup Final, Shero wrote his now famous quote "Win today and we walk together forever" – a statement that continues to be quoted to this day. His son, Ray Shero, also pursued a career in hockey, serving as general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins (2006–2014) and New Jersey Devils (2015–2020).
Fred Shero was born on October 23, 1925, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to Russian-born parents who had fled to Canada after suffering religious persecution. He was often bullied for being the son of immigrants and went out of his way to avoid some of the other children in his neighbourhood. Shero credited his childhood experiences as a reason why he tended to be a loner. As a child Shero took up boxing and at age 13 he became a Canadian Bantamweight champion. His success gave him a chance to become a professional boxer, but he decided to play hockey instead. When he signed his first professional contract with the Rangers, his father cautioned him that "hockey players are looking for work when they are 30." When he left Winnipeg's Isaac Newton High School to go off to New York to play for the Rovers, he continued his education in his new surroundings.
At age 17, Shero was signed by the New York Rangers to a professional contract. He spent the first year of his contract in the minors, splitting time between the New York Rovers and the Brooklyn Crescents in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League. The following season, Shero served in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II, although he continued to play hockey for the Navy as a member of HMCS Chippawa. Upon returning to the Rangers organization, Shero continued to play in the minors for another two seasons before reaching the National Hockey League (NHL). On October 16, 1947, he made his NHL debut at the Montreal Forum against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadiens in the 1947–48 season opener. However, he only played 19 games with the Rangers that year while splitting time with the St. Paul Saints in the United States Hockey League. It was during this time that he would first garner the nickname "The Fog". Although more often associated with his loner personality and propensity for being lost in thought, the nickname actually originated during a 1948 game in St. Paul, Minnesota: high humidity on indoor ice surfaces can result in fog, and one night in St. Paul, the fog was so thick that Shero was the only player who claimed to be able to see the puck, thus earning him the name "Freddy the Fog".
The 1948–49 season saw Shero become a regular in the Rangers lineup as well as his first NHL post-season action. The following season, Shero set career highs in games played, assists, and points, while the Rangers qualified for the post-season in the fourth and final position. Despite being the lowest seed, the Rangers made it to the Stanley Cup Final by upsetting the Montreal Canadiens in the first round. In the Finals, the Rangers faced the Detroit Red Wings, and on April 23, 1950, the Rangers lost game seven in double overtime. It was the last NHL game Shero ever played. On May 14, 1951, the Rangers traded Shero to the American Hockey League's (AHL) Cleveland Barons. Shero won back-to-back Calder Cups with the Barons in 1953 and 1954. Shero was also named an AHL Second Team All-Star in 1954. However, he only played one more season with the Barons before moving to the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Winnipeg Warriors for the 1955–56 season. In his first season with the club, Shero captained the Warriors to the WHL championship. He played with the Warriors again during the 1956–57 season, but then moved to the Quebec Hockey League (QHL), playing for the Shawinigan Cataractes in 1957–58. During the 1957–58 QHL season, Shero began coaching, serving as a player and assistant coach for the Cataractes and helping them capture the QHL championship. He retired from playing in 1958.
After retiring as a player, Shero continued to coach and began a 13-year coaching career in the minor leagues. During his time in the minors, Shero proved to be a winning coach accumulating six first-place finishes, five second-place finishes and twice finishing third in various leagues. He also coached the St. Paul Saints to the IHL championship, The Turner Cup, in 1960 and 1961. In 1964, he coached the St. Paul Rangers to the CPHL championship finals. The following season Shero began his AHL coaching career with the Buffalo Bisons whom he led to a Calder Cup Championship in 1970, while winning the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as AHL coach of the year. For the 1970–71 season Shero again changed teams this time coaching in the Central Hockey League with the Omaha Knights, winning the league Championship. Although in the Rangers farm system for several years and winning at various levels, Shero was never seriously considered to replace Emile Francis as head coach, due to Shero's perceived alcohol problem and a belief that he was an ineffective communicator.
Philadelphia Flyers (1971–1978)
In 1971 the Philadelphia Flyers were looking for a new coach, and general manager Keith Allen suggested Shero to owner Ed Snider. When asked if he knew Shero, Allen admitted to only knowing him by reputation. He knew Shero always had a winning record, plus he had a "gut feeling" he was the right man for the job. Snider agreed to bring in Shero because he trusted Allen's judgment. Thus Shero became the third coach in Flyers history; he had high hopes for the season, predicting that the Flyers would finish no worse than second in the West Division. The 1971–72 season was disappointing for Shero as the Flyers finished in 5th place in the West with a 26–38–14 record. The Flyers 66 points were actually a decrease of 7 points in the standings and they missed the playoffs for the second time in three years. Shero's "Fog" nickname was also re-established during the year following a game at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta when he left the arena through a door with no re-entry and became locked outside prior to the post-game press conference. At the press conference no one knew where Shero was and reporters unsuccessfully searched the arena for him.
In the off-season Shero decided that the team would be more successful if he coached them like he had coached his minor league teams. Upon being elevated to the NHL, he had decided not to employ systems like he did in the minors, stating that he had too much respect for NHL players. However, he decided that since he had the same kind of players on the Flyers as he did in the minors, he would use the same systems, becoming the first coach to employ systems. Shero insisted on having a scout for talent in Europe, and the club employed Aggie Kukulowicz who had played in the NHL and spoke Russian and Polish.