New Flames GM offers refreshing positivity on first day

“Offensively, I’d like to see us be more creative from the red line in,” Conroy elaborated. “I want them to be creative, I want them to free-wheel and do what they do. And you know what, you’re going to turn pucks over — and then you backcheck. From the red line back, I want structure.”

Conroy joined the Flames management group after retiring as a player in 2011. After starting out as a special assistant to acting general manager Jay Feaster, Conroy worked his way up to become a full-time assistant general manager under Treliving in 2014.

Although his name occasionally popped up in relation to various GM openings around the league during his time as an AGM, Conroy remained in that position for nearly nine years before finally being promoted on Tuesday.

With one former Flames star now in charge in Calgary, it remains to be seen whether others will follow. To his credit, Conroy gladly discussed the prospect of adding Jarome Iginla, a franchise icon (and his old linemate), to join the revamped front office.

“We’ve always expressed an interest in working together,” Conroy remarked. “Right now, he’s coaching RINK Kelowna, he has his son, Joe, but this is definitely something I want to explore moving forward.”

Before he can call up Iginla to shoot the breeze about the Flames’ 2004 Cup Final run one more time, Conroy will need to fill the vacancy Sutter left behind the bench.

He’ll also be tasked with mapping out a game plan for how the Flames will deal with their seven key players — Elias Lindholm, Tyler Toffoli, Mikael Backlund, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov and Oliver Kylington — who are eligible to hit the free-agent market in 2024.

“I think the biggest part of being a general manager is asset management,” Conroy said. “We have seven unrestricted free agents. I kind of feel like I know where those guys are at, but that was as assistant GM. These would be different conversations. So, I do think I want to get where they’re at.

“We can’t go into a season with seven UFAs. It just doesn’t make sense. We’ve got to make sure we do it right for the Calgary Flames. So, we’re going to look at all of those options.”

While Sutter was — to put it mildly — reluctant to integrate younger players into the mix, Conroy’s comments on the subject acted as a soothing tonic.

“I think we’re going to change the core a little bit — not the core pieces, but I think we’re going to add some youth into the lineup,” Conroy said. “My big thing has been drafting, watching players, and what I’ve watched and learned is, you need young players on a team. You need that excitement, what they bring day in and day out. It’s nothing against the older players, but when you watch the league, you see what these kids are doing.”

It’s safe to say Craig Conroy might just know what number Jakob Pelletier wears on the back of his jersey, for instance. The coach he hires might just be willing to give Matt Coronato, Matthew Phillips or Dustin Wolf actual NHL auditions instead of the token cameos they were granted in 2022–23. It’s certainly not as though Sutter’s preferred veterans elevated the Flames into contention.

Legitimate change may actually be on the horizon in Calgary. Even though he’ll likely never be able to match the impact Tkachuk has provided in Florida this year, Huberdeau is still one heck of a player. MacKenzie Weegar, Nazem Kadri and Jacob Markstrom have tremendous upside. The Flames just need to be patient and play to their respective strengths.

The ever-obstinate Sutter alienated a significant chunk of his team’s players and fa nbase with his curmudgeonly mannerisms last year. In stark contrast, Conroy’s endless positivity and progressive ideas garnered rave reviews in Calgary on Tuesday. He’s more than proven himself as someone who’s easy to root for.

Now, it’s up to "Connie" and the coaching staff he’s primed to assemble to back up his words — and boy, he has a lot of words — with a big rebound toward Cup contention in 2023–24.