As the Toronto Maple Leafs have thoroughly stolen the headlines Friday, another Canadian team is looking to make some front-office news. Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff reports that the Calgary Flames are close to hiring a new general manager.
On Thursday evening, it was reported that Craig Conroy was considered to be a strong internal candidate to replace Brad Treliving as general manager in Calgary, and Seravalli points out that he may be the "odds-on favorite." Conroy has been a longtime favorite for the Flames, playing nine seasons for the team, and becoming the team captain shortly before Jarome Iginla took the mantle in 2003.
Since retiring in 2011, Conroy was immediately hired on as a special assistant to the general manager and quickly became assistant general manager before the 2014-15 season. For seemingly being a part of the Flames organization all of his adult life, there is no question as to why Conroy is the favorite to become the new general manager in Calgary.
Aside from Conroy, Seravalli also mentioned a list of external candidates that have had in-person interviews in the past week, including David Nonis, Stan Bowman and Marc Bergevin. All three external candidates have considerable experience at the helm of the front office in the NHL.
Another interesting note Seravalli shared is that the Flames have changed their approach in regard to Treliving’s future. In previous reports, the Pittsburgh Penguins had previously been denied access to interview Treliving, per the terms of his past extension.
Now, Seravalli reports that Calgary will no longer prohibit Treliving from interviewing with interested parties. In light of the news coming from the Maple Leafs, Treliving immediately comes to mind as a potential solution to the new vacuum created in Toronto.
More must-reads: