Flames coaching news: entire NHL coaching staff extended for two more seasons

As the calendar flipped over to May, the Calgary Flames made a coaching announcement on Friday morning. The club announced two year contract extensions for assistant coaches Dave Lowry, Trent Cull and Cail MacLean, assistant coach (video) Jamie Pringle and goaltending coach Jason LaBarbera. These extensions keep them all under contract through the 2027-28 season.

Head coach Ryan Huska was previously a recipient of a two year extension of his own back in the fall, so the entire coaching staff will remain intact through the first season in Scotia Place.

Lowry, 61, joined the Flames coaching staff ahead of last season, replacing Brad Larsen. Lowry’s coaching resume is lengthy, with NHL stints with the Flames (twice), Kings, Jets and Kraken, and WHL runs with the Hitmen, Victoria and Brandon. He played over 1,000 NHL games, too, suiting up with Vancouver, St. Louis, Florida, San Jose and Calgary. He primarily works with the Flames’ forwards.

Cull, 52, was promoted full-time to the NHL before last season, replacing Dan Lambert, after filling in for Larsen on an interim basis in 2024-25. He had previously been an assistant with Vancouver, and also coached in the AHL (Syracuse, Utica, Abbotsford and Calgary) and OHL (Guelph and Sudbury). He primarily works with the Flames’ defencemen and runs the penalty kill.

MacLean, 49, has been with the Flames since 2021. He previously coached in the AHL (Abbotsford and Stockton) and ECHL (South Carolina and Adirondack). He primarily runs the Flames’ power play and coordinates in-game tactical adjustments.

Pringle, 50, has been with the Flames since 2011, joining their staff after stints with Florida, Ottawa, Hockey Canada, and the OHL (Belleville and Kingston).

LaBarbera, 46, joined the Flames in 2020 after four seasons as goalie coach with the Hitmen. He had a lengthy playing career, featuring NHL stints with the NY Rangers, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Phoenix, Edmonton, Chicago, Anaheim and Philadelphia.

As Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg noted on social media, the extensions weren’t unexpected. The Flames were generally well-coached last season, and their penalty kill was quite effective. You could make a case for looking at upgrading their power play, but during exit interviews with the media Morgan Frost praised MacLean’s game-planning and put the blame for the poor PP on the players. With Zayne Parekh and Matvei Gridin expected to be PP fixtures, the hope is that’ll help trigger a special teams turn-around for that unit.

The organization also announced the departure of Wranglers assistant coach Joe Cirella, following nine years in the organization with Stockton and the Wranglers. Cirella worked under MacLean, Mitch Love, Cull and most recent Brett Sutter. (Cirella also served as interim coach in 2024-25 when Cull was brought to the NHL on an interim basis.) Cirella primarily worked with the Wranglers’ blueliners and ran the penalty kill.