Flames officially name Craig Conroy as team’s eighth GM

It’s official.

The Calgary Flames announced that former forward Craig Conroy has succeeded Brad Treliving to become the eighth general manager of the organization.

Conroy was named the odds-on favorite by Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli late on Friday afternoon.

“It is rewarding for the organization to learn that the most qualified individual for the position has been preparing in house,” said Don Maloney, the team’s president of hockey operations. “Craig brings a fresh approach, high energy, he is a tremendous communicator, decisive, a worker, and he is relationship-driven. His passion for the Flames and the community are unmatched. Craig is ready for the challenge to lead our team to the Stanley Cup.”

The 51-year-old had two stints with the Flames and was a big part of the team’s Stanley Cup Final run in 2004. He had a career-high 75 points in 2001-02 before serving as captain in 2002-03. He left after the 2004 playoffs for a two-year stint with Los Angeles, only to play the final four and a half years back with the Flames.

Conroy retired during the 2010-11 season and rejoined the team that same season as a special assistant to the GM. He held that role until 2014-15, where he was promoted to assistant GM under Treliving. Calgary is the only franchise Conroy has ever worked for, with many immediately expecting him to be Treliving’s replacement after he left the club earlier this spring.

Other candidates for the GM position included former NHL GMs Dave Nonis, Stan Bowman and Marc Bergevin.

Nonis will join the team as senior vice president of hockey operations and assistant GM. Though his stints as GM of Toronto and later as an executive in Anaheim were not terribly successful, Nonis’s experience in higher management should be valuable to Conroy, a first-time NHL GM.

The team also announced that Brad Pascall will now be the VP of hockey operations and assistant GM, while Chris Snow will be the VP of data and analytics, as well as an assistant GM.