The Calgary Flames had extreme turnover last offseason. Superstar scorer Johnny Gaudreau left the team in free agency, and fellow star winger Matthew Tkachuk told the team he wasn’t sticking around long-term.
In response, general manager Brad Treliving got to work. He acquired Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, and Nazem Kadri in an attempt to retool the team on the fly.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. And with his contract expiring soon, Treliving has decided to move on from the Flames organization. It ends a partnership between GM and the team dating back to 2014.
A new general manager will be tasked with taking a team that barely missed the playoffs and pushing them to the next level. They also have an interesting decision to make regarding the future of veteran head coach Darryl Sutter.
Who will be the man to replace Treliving in Calgary? Here are three possible candidates for the vacant Flames GM position
3. Mathieu Darche, Tampa Bay Lightning assistant general manager
Darche brings to this list what unintentionally became a theme: playing experience. The former forward spent nine years in the NHL, spending three years each with the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Darche’s experience off the ice is rather diverse. He has experience in sales and marketing, as well as labor negotiations. He played an integral role in helping the NHLPA negotiate a new CBA during the 2012-13 lockout.
The 45-year-old joined Tampa Bay’s front office in 2019 and has interviewed for a few GM jobs around the league. In Tampa, he assists in player contract negotiations as well as managing the salary cap.
Darche comes from the NHL’s most successful organization in recent memory. Perhaps he can inject that type of winning mentality into the Flames organization.
2. Cammi Granato, Vancouver Canucks assistant general manager
Granato, again, has playing experience. In fact, the Vancouver Canucks assistant GM is widely considered one of the best American women’s hockey players of all time. She is also enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
After years of interest from NHL teams, Granato jumped at an opportunity with the Seattle Kraken in 2019. She became the first woman hired as a scout in league history. She remained with the Kraken until last summer when the Canucks offered her the position she now holds.
Granato’s experience is in scouting, and she assisted in building the Kraken from the ground up. That work has paid off, as the team is making its Stanley Cup Playoff debut in just its second season.
Some around the league believe it may be a bit early for the US hockey legend to take the reins of a team herself. However, Granato is well respected across the NHL and should be a GM in the future. Perhaps her time is coming sooner than some think.
1. Craig Conroy, Calgary Flames assistant general manager
If the Flames want to stay in-house with this search, there is no better choice than Conroy. The former player spent nine years with Calgary across two separate stints with the team.
He retired as a player in 2011 and immediately accepted a position within the team’s front office. He has risen through the ranks, being promoted to assistant general manager in 2014.
Conroy has had his hands in all facets of management with the Flames. He worked in scouting and he was the GM of Calgary’s AHL farm team. He became so trusted that in 2014, Conroy was the man tasked with convincing Johnny Gaudreau to join the Flames and turn pro.
This is not the only GM job that has called Conroy’s name. In fact, he was a finalist for the Buffalo Sabres’ vacancy a few years ago. That job ultimately went to Jason Botterill.
There is no candidate on the list who knows the city better than Craig Conroy. And no other candidate understands this organization better than the former Flames center. Conroy is a perfect fit for this role, without a doubt.
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