Conroy named general manager of Flames

CALGARY --Craig Conroy was named general manager of the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

The 51-year-old begins his first tenure as an NHL GM after nine seasons as a Flames assistant GM. He replaces Brad Treliving, who Calgary announced April 17 would not return after nine seasons. Treliving's contract was set to expire June 30.

The Flames (38-27-17) finished fifth in the Pacific Division this season, two points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. They were 362-265-73 under Treliving and had five coaches: Bob Hartley, Glen Gulutzan, Bill Peters, Geoff Ward and Darryl Sutter.

"I think we're going to change the core a little bit," Conroy said. "Not the core pieces, but I think we're going to add some new things.

"What I've watched and learned is you need young players on the team. You need that excitement. You know what they bring day in and day out, and it's nothing against the older players. But when you watch the League, you see what these kids are doing at 15, 16, 17 years old. I can't even imagine doing that, so you have to bring that in your team. You have to give them a chance. It might not be seamless all the time and it's easier to play veteran players, but we need to kind of move forward."

Sutter was fired as coach May 1. Flames president of hockey operations Don Maloney, who was the interim GM, said it would be the responsibility of the new GM to find Sutter's replacement.

"We obviously want to get going sooner than later, but we want to get the right person," Conroy said. "I mean, I think like Don said, we want to go through the process and interview [candidates]. I think we should just look at everybody and then as a group, when we do the interviews, come up with the right person that fits that role here in Calgary."

Forwards Milan Lucic, Nick Ritchie and Trevor Lewis, and defensemen Troy Stecher and Michael Stone can each become an unrestricted free agent July 1. Forwards Elias Lindholm, Tyler Toffoli and Mikael Backlund, and defensemen Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov and Dennis Gilbert each is eligible to become a unrestricted free agent after next season.

Lindholm's 42 assists led the Flames. His 64 points were second to Toffoli's 73.

"I do know where Elias was thinking prior, so now I want to see where he's at," Conroy said of the 28-year-old. "I really do want to see what his mindset is right now. [We have] a very good relationship and, obviously, he's a priority here. He's a player you build around."

Conroy joined management as a special assistant to GM Jay Feaster after retiring from the NHL on Feb. 4, 2011. The forward had 308 points (97 goals, 211 assists) in 507 games with Calgary and 542 points (182 goals, 360 assists) in 1,009 games for the Flames, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues and Montreal Canadiens.

A sixth-round pick (No. 123) by the Canadiens in the 1990 NHL Draft, Conroy played four seasons at Clarkson University. He was traded to the Blues with Roy Fitzpatrick and Pierre Turgeon on Oct. 29, 1996, for Murray Baron, Shayne Corson and a fifth-round pick in the 1997 NHL Draft. He was traded to Calgary on March 13, 2001, where he played four seasons and helped the Flames advance to the 2004 Stanley Cup Final, a seven-game loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, before signing with the Kings as a free agent. Conroy was reacquired by the Flames on Jan. 29, 2007.

"As you all know, Craig's been here in the organization nine years as assistant general manager, 12 years in a management position," Maloney said. "His knowledge of the organization at every level, he has knowledge: draft picks prospects, AHL, NHL players, coaches, trainers, scouts. That's a bonus. Knowing our organization, he knows what we have, knows what we don't have. He knows the vision and the understanding of what's going to take to build a winner here in Calgary.

"He's got a beautiful family, has been in Calgary for the last 12, 15, 18 years as a player. He's a nice guy. But you know what? You don't play 1,000 games in the NHL being a nice guy. There are times when you have to be firm. You have to be hard and make decisions that allow you to win. For me, he's got an eye for talent. I think that's his strength, is he knows players, and at the end of the day, that's how we're all going to be evaluated up here, is to make the right decisions and bring the right players in to win a championship."

David Nonis was named senior vice president of hockey operations and assistant GM. Nonis was GM of the Vancouver Canucks from 2004-08 and the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2013-15. He has also worked in advisory and scouting roles for the Anaheim Ducks and worked in the NHL Department of Player Safety.

During Nonis' tenure, the Canucks acquired Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Roberto Luongo in a trade with the Florida Panthers on June 23, 2006.

"I'm excited to join the management group in Calgary and assist in building a Stanley Cup-winning team here," Nonis said.

The Flames also announced the extensions and appointments of Brad Pascall as vice president of hockey operations and assistant general manager, and Chris Snow as vice president data/analytics and assistant GM.

"We understood that this process would afford us the opportunity to identify a broad range of strong candidates," Maloney said. "David's experience is extensive, having performed the role of a general manager in the past. Given the complex nature of the business and the decisions required to be made in this area, we believe David will be a valuable addition in assisting Craig and our hockey operations team. We are excited to welcome David to Calgary and our Flames family."