New New Flames general manager Craig Conroy has spent the past 12 years with the team, including the last nine as assistant general manager.
The Flames' new general manager (GM), whose name was announced on Tuesday, won't need much time to acclimate to his new role. Craig Conroy has been part of the Flames organization since the 2010-2011 season, since he announced his retirement as a player.
He has spent the last nine seasons as assistant to the general manager. Previously, he served for three seasons as special assistant to the general manager. He worked under Jay Feaster, Brian Burke and Brad Treliving, whom he now replaces.
Brad Treliving and the Flames had decided, by mutual agreement, not to renew their agreement which expired this summer.
The president of hockey operations, Don Maloney, says that several candidates have been interviewed. We've met former GMs, assistant GM aspirants, players' agents and even members of the media, he said.
Maloney adds that it's a big plus that Conroy knows the team and the city well, but it wasn't high on his list.
It was his knowledge of what it takes to win in the NHL, among other things, that convinced Don Maloney that Conroy was the man for the job. Among the other reasons, he cites his knowledge of the players in the league, the relationship that already exists with the players of the team and with the other general managers of the NHL.
He adds that the process was not a popularity contest, one he would no doubt have won given the good relationships he has established over the years with members of the Flames organization.
Along with being a longtime member of Flames administration, Craig Conroy has played in 507 of his 1,009 NHL games in a team uniform.
He scored 182 goals and 360 assists for 542 points in addition to adding 30 points in 81 playoff games. He played an important role in the 2004 playoffs when the Flames lost in the Finals to Tampa Bay. He had then amassed 17 points in 26 games.
It was the Montreal Canadiens who drafted him in the sixth round (123rd overall) in 1990. He spent two seasons with the organization before being traded to the St. Louis Blues. He played four full seasons with the Blues before being traded to the Flames after 69 games in his fifth season with the team.
From 2001 to 2004, he spent four seasons in Calgary before joining the Kings, who traded him to the Flames in January 2007. He ended his career playing 18 games in the 2010-11 season. Upon the announcement of his retirement, then-General Manager Jay Feaster appointed him Special Assistant to the General Manager.
There's no shortage of to-do items on the new CEO's list. He first intends to look at the amateur draft which will take place on June 28 and 29 in Nashville.
In fact, Flames scouts must meet for three days of meetings to establish the team's draft list.
He then wants to find a new coach to replace Darryl Sutter, who was fired a few weeks ago.
Craig Conroy hasn't set a deadline for finding his trusted man, he prefers to take his time to find the perfect candidate.
It is important for him to find someone who will be able to give back to the players the desire to show up at the arena every morning, something that was lacking during the last season, he said.
He also wants someone he can work with as a team, who will be on the same wavelength as him.
He admits that a list of potential candidates already exists, but he does not want to limit himself to this list.
The third priority on his list is to negotiate with the team's free agents and also with those who will become free agents next year, and with whom contract negotiations will soon be allowed.
This year, the list includes support players like Trevor Lewis, Milan Lucic, Nick Ritchie and Michael Stone.
The list for next year is bigger. It has seven players who are part of the core of the team: Mikael Backlund, Elias Lindholm, Tyler Toffoli, Noah Hanifin, Christopher Tanev, Nikita Zadorov and Oliver Kylington.
I did not attend the end of season meetings, I will call these players one by one to find out what we need to do to convince them to stay in Calgary.
Craig Conroy also intends to rejuvenate his team. He admits to thinking of making changes to the core of the team in order to leave more room for young people.
“We need the energy of young players. Over the past few years, I've seen a lot of young players play and what they can accomplish on the ice is exceptional, but they have to be given space,” said the new general manager.
The Flames also announced the appointment of Dave Nonis as Vice President Hockey Operations and Assistant General Manager. He joins the Flames after spending several seasons with the Canucks, Maple Leafs and Ducks.
Dave Nonis held important roles with the Maple Leafs, Canucks and Ducks before joining the Flames .
For six seasons he worked under Brian Burke with the Canucks as vice president and director of hockey operations. In 2004, he replaced Brian Burke as the team's general manager, a position he held for three seasons.
After spending a few months with the Ducks, where he held the position of hockey operations advisor, he was appointed in December 2008 vice-president and director of hockey operations, again under the orders of Brian Burke.
Again, he was called upon to replace him and in January 2013, he became the general manager of the Maple Leafs. Fired in April 2015, Dave Nonis returned to the Ducks a few months later where he was offered a job as a recruiter and consultant to the general manager. He had been unemployed since February 2022.
