The Calgary Flames have signed general manager Craig Conroy to a 2 year extension on Friday the club announced.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to continue leading this hockey club,” stated Flames General Manager Craig Conroy. “We have made important strides the last two years, and I believe in the culture of this team. We are excited about the future, and we are all committed to do everything we can to bring success to this franchise.”
The 54 year old has spent the better part of the last 25 years in the Flames organization as either a player, or in a variety of front office roles.
The Flames also announced that president Don Maloney, senior vice-president of Hockey Operations/Assistant General Manager Dave Nonis and vice-president of hockey operations/Assistant General Manager Brad Pascall all signed two-year contract extensions prior to the start of the season.
Under Conroy’s leadership, Calgary has amassed a 125-107-39 record across parts of 4 seasons. However, the club has failed to qualify for the playoffs in any of his years in charge, and currently sit last in the Pacific division with rumours swirling about an impending firesale ahead of the NHL trade deadline.
Some of Conroy’s biggest moves to date include trading Tyler Toffoli, Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, and Jacob Markstrom, however Calgary has yet to see the return on those trades quite yet with most of the capital coming back being in the form of draft picks. The general consensus from around the league is that Conroy has done well with those picks, but unless the Flames are able to turn things around in relatively short order, it would be surprising to see an additional extension beyond what was just signed.
Calgary has several prospects either getting their feet wet or knocking on the NHL door at the moment, including Zayne Parekh, Hunter Brzustewicz, Cole Reschny, Matvei Gridin and Samuel Honzek. However Conroy & Co. will need those players to acclimate to the speed and physicality of the NHL in relatively short order if the club wants to make a return to the postseason.
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