Incoming Calgary Flames general manager Craig Conroy addressed the media on Tuesday afternoon to discuss his vision and some of the decisions he’ll need to make in his first summer on the job.
Conroy, who has served in the Flames front office since retiring as a player in 2011, officially assumed the role vacated by Brad Treliving in April.
Additionally, the Flames named former Toronto Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis their senior vice president of hockey operations and assistant general manager. The club also promoted existing assistant general managers Brad Pascall and Chris Snow.
The Flames underachieved in Treliving’s final year on the job, missing the playoffs after posting a 38–27–17 record in the regular season. The team’s poor performance cost head coach Darryl Sutter his job and could have further effects on the roster.
“Well, I think we’re going to change the core a little bit,” Conroy said in his press conference on Tuesday. “Not the core pieces, but I think we’re going to add some youth in the lineup.
“My big thing has been drafting, watching players, and what I’ve watched and learned is, you need young players on the team. You need that excitement, you need 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. You have to bring that into your team, you have to give them a chance.”
Conroy also pointed out the financial benefits of adding more young players into the lineup, particularly given the constraints the Flames will face this summer when contract extensions for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar take effect.
“We have a salary cap. Young players definitely help the salary cap. We’re gonna look at all that. But I never want to say this team can’t win,” Conroy said. “I never want to count a team out. But I definitely think there needs to be some changes.”
Conroy appeared in more than 500 games with the Flames during his 16-season NHL career. He collected 97 goals and 308 points in 507 games over two stints with the Flames between 2001–2004 and 2007–2011.
The Montreal Canadiens originally selected Conroy in the sixth round (No. 123 overall) of the 1990 NHL Draft. The Potsdam, N.Y. product appeared in just 13 games over parts of two seasons with the Canadiens before being traded in 1996 to the St. Louis Blues, with whom he became a contender for the Frank J. Selke Trophy.
Conroy continued his strong two-way play upon being traded to the Flames in 2001, finishing second in Selke voting in 2002 after scoring a career-best 27 goals and 75 points in 81 games. He was the Flames’ top center when the club reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2004.
After a brief stint with the Los Angeles Kings, Conroy returned to the Flames in 2007 and finished his career in a checking role with the team. In all, he recorded 182 goals and 542 points in 1,009 games over 16 seasons with the Canadiens, Blues, Flames and Kings; he added 10 goals and 30 points in 81 career playoff contests.
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