- Who the Calgary Flames are targeting in their search for a general manager to replace the departed Brad Treliving has gotten some more clarity, as DailyFaceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that the team plans on pursuing permission to interview Toronto Maple Leafs assistant general manager Brandon Pridham. Pridham, 49, has been with the Maple Leafs’ organization throughout their current rebuild, beginning as special assistant to the general manager before being promoted to assistant general manager for the 2018-19 season. Per Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson, Pridham “has a reputation as a salary-cap whiz,” which is a trait that the Flames could certainly use as they navigate a future with some key players, such as Elias Lindholm, Tyler Toffoli, Mikael Backlund, Noah Hanifin, and Chris Tanev on contracts that expire after next season.
Flames Rumors
Flames Reportedly Denying Teams Permission To Speak To Brad Treliving
When the Flames and Brad Treliving parted ways at the end of the regular season, it seemed likely that his name would surface in the rumor mill before too long, especially with there being a vacancy in Pittsburgh while other teams have been looking to add to their front offices. However, that hasn’t been the case.
That said, there appears to be a reason why Treliving’s name hasn’t come up as Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports (Twitter link) that the Flames do not want to grant other organizations permission to speak to Treliving until his contract expires. Even though the announcement that he wouldn’t be back with Calgary came in mid-April, his deal technically doesn’t come to an end until June 30th.
This is a technicality that comes up many times when executives or coaches are no longer with a team (either by firing or, as has come up more recently, mutually parted ways). Any other team that wants to interview that person officially still has to get permission to speak to them from the organization they no longer work for. That generally happens without a hitch but as Calgary is still paying Treliving, the Flames are within their rights to do this.
It’s possible that this has to do with the fact that the draft is coming up next month. Having worked for the Flames throughout the season, Treliving would have been a part of scouting meetings and Calgary might not want to let any information about their strategy, scouting reports, or things they’ve learned about draft-eligible players get to another team this close to the draft.
While an inquiring team – Pittsburgh or otherwise – could make a request to interview with the caveat that Treliving wouldn’t begin in his new role until after the draft, that’s not necessarily the easiest promise to make with there being so little time between the end of the draft and the opening of the free agent market. The draft finishes up on June 29th and the new league year begins less than 48 hours later which doesn’t leave much time for Treliving to join an organization and be ready to have an influential role when the free agent frenzy begins. Similarly, another team could ask to interview Treliving with a promise that he won’t be involved in the draft but that’s quite difficult to enforce.
Accordingly, assuming that Flames ownership doesn’t have a change of heart in the coming weeks, Treliving won’t be able to pursue a new position until the 2023-24 league year opens up in July. At that point, it’s fair to wonder if there will be a spot for him to pursue at that time. Last month, his decision to leave Calgary raised some eyebrows. Now, the delayed process of that actually happening is also drawing some attention.
Chicago Blackhawks Win 2023 NHL Draft Lottery
One of the most highly anticipated nights on the NHL calendar has finally arrived as the annual NHL Draft Lottery was held to determine which team would have the honor of selecting first and second overall at the 2023 NHL Draft. The 16 teams that failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs all had a chance to win the lottery, though teams can only move up a maximum of ten slots, so the bottom 11 teams in the NHL standings all had a chance of landing the top draft pick.
The results are now in and the Chicago Blackhawks have won the first overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft. They had the third best odds entering the night, but jumped ahead of the Anaheim Ducks and the Columbus Blue Jackets to win the top pick. The Ducks won the second overall pick and will now step to the podium second at the draft after entering the lottery with the best odds at winning the first overall pick. The Blue Jackets had the second best odds of winning the lottery, but have dropped to third overall.
The now official order of the first 16 picks in the 2023 NHL Draft will go as follows:
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Anaheim Ducks
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- San Jose Sharks
- Montreal Canadiens
- Arizona Coyotes
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Washington Capitals
- Detroit Red Wings
- St. Louis Blues
- Vancouver Canucks
- Arizona Coyotes (via Ottawa Senators)
- Buffalo Sabres
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Nashville Predators
- Calgary Flames
The prize for winning the first overall pick is a big one this season. Connor Bedard is slated to go with the top selection at the 2023 NHL Draft and he promises to be an exceptional NHL player.
Bedard will not turn 18 years old until July, but he did lead the WHL in goals, assists and points this past season. He scored 71 goals, 72 assists and 143 points in just 57 games. He was away from the team for a few weeks around Christmas to suit up at the World Juniors where he brought his world-class skills to the biggest stage yet. He was named MVP of the tournament after scoring nine goals and 23 points in just seven games, helping Canada claim a gold medal.
Adam Fantilli is likely to be the second player off the board at the draft, but he is an exceptional consolation prize. He won the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in college hockey during his freshman season. Fantilli scored 30 goals and 65 points in just 36 NCAA contests, showing he is ready to take the next step to the NHL immediately after being drafted.
The 2023 NHL Draft will be held in Nashville, Tennessee on June 28.
Oliver Kylington Expected To Re-Join Flames Next Season
TSN is reporting that Calgary Flames president of hockey operations Don Maloney stated Monday that defenseman Oliver Kylington will re-join the team next season. Maloney made the announcement this afternoon at a Flames press conference and stated that he was excited to see the Swede coming back to Alberta. The former second round pick didn’t play in Calgary this season and wasn’t with the team as he was dealing with a personal matter.
Kylington was very effective for the Flames in 2021-22 as he set career highs with nine goals and 31 points in 73 games playing alongside defensive defenseman Chris Tanev on the second pairing. His breakout season led the Flames to re-sign the Stockholm native to a two year $5MM contract extension in August 2022.
With Kylington returning it could make for an interesting shuffling of the deck chairs on the Flames back end. Calgary is just $1.25MM under the 2023-24 salary cap without accounting for Kylington’s cap hit. His return will most certainly put the Flames over the salary cap and require them to move out a player or two.
Calgary might already be interested in moving out some players given the year the team just had missing the playoffs. The Flames made huge moves last summer and was expected to compete for the Stanley Cup, but instead ending up parting ways with general manager Brad Treliving and firing head coach Darryl Sutter. The Flames have no shortage of tradeable assets and could move a couple of their pending unrestricted free agents this summer should they decide to rebuild or retool their roster.
Calgary Flames Fire Darryl Sutter
As reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Calgary Flames are expected to fire head coach Darryl Sutter. Sutter was set to enter a two-year extension with the team on July 1. The team made the news official later Monday morning.
Calgary will owe Sutter the $4MM per season committed on his extension, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic confirms.
While the news comes with some surprise after the team retained Sutter while parting ways with general manager Brad Treliving weeks ago, it’s not entirely unexpected based on Calgary’s incredibly disappointing season. After making multiple high-octane changes during the offseason, the Flames were expected to compete for the Pacific Division title entering 2022-23. Instead, burnout struck the team, which missed the playoffs for the third time in six seasons.
Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation president and CEO John Bean gave the following statement on Sutter’s dismissal:
On behalf of ownership and all Calgary Flames fans, we want to thank Darryl for his cumulative years of service to the Calgary Flames and to the community at large.
The news concludes Sutter’s second tenure as head coach of the Flames. After serving behind the bench for three seasons between 2002 and 2006, the Flames brought Sutter back into the fold during the 2020-21 season. In total, he ends his Flames career as head coach with 404 games, a 210-136-15-43 record, and a Western Conference championship in 2004.
Sutter’s reputation for strong defensive teams came through strong in 2021-22, with Calgary enjoying their best regular-season record behind their Stanley Cup-winning 1988-89 campaign. Finishing first in the Pacific Division with 111 points, Calgary’s strong play dried up in the Second Round, losing to Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.
That same mentality didn’t carry over to a 2022-23 team with significant offensive turnover, and prized acquisitions Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri struggled heavily to fit into Calgary’s system. With the team committed to both players for many years to come, interim general manager Don Maloney decided a new direction behind the bench was necessary for future success.
Whoever Calgary’s next head coach may be, they’ll inherit a team that still has the key components necessary to compete in the Western Conference. With a system more suited to the capabilities of Huberdeau and Kadri, as well as more opportunities for younger players such as Dillon Dubé, Jakob Pelletier, and Adam Ruzicka, the Flames aren’t in a position where they need to tear down and start over.
New Arena Deal Announced For Flames, Andrew Mangiapane Undergoes Surgery
The long wait is over for an announcement of a new arena for the Flames as the City of Calgary announced that they have come to an agreement on a new arena and events center. The agreement will be funded between the city ($537MM), the Province of Alberta ($300MM towards supportive infrastructure), and Flames ownership ($356MM) over the next three years. Don Braid of the Calgary Herald notes that this agreement also covers the demolition of the Saddledome, the oldest arena in the NHL which turns 40 in October. There is no projected timeline yet for when the new arena will be operational. Given the scope of the project, it will almost certainly take a while.
- Still with the Flames, the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Andrew Mangiapane has undergone successful shoulder surgery and will be ready for training camp. The 27-year-old wasn’t able to repeat his 35-goal performance from last season, slipping down to 17 tallies while chipping in with 26 assists to finish eighth on the team in scoring. He has two years left on his deal which carries a $5.8MM AAV so Calgary will certainly be hoping that the surgery will help Mangiapane reclaim his scoring touch.
Calgary Flames GM Search Pointing To Conroy
- Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 discusses the possibilities for the next Calgary Flames general manager and points out one very likely candidate. Steinberg says the team isn’t looking for a veteran retread for the job as they have Don Maloney in place as an experienced executive after naming him the team’s President of Hockey Operations. Steinberg discusses Flames assistant general manager Craig Conroy, the most likely candidate. The 51-year-old has been in the Flames front office since 2010, acting as a special assistant to the GM or the assistant GM.
Calgary Flames Sign Walker Duehr To An Extension
The Calgary Flames have announced that they’ve re-signed forward Walker Duehr to a two-year one-way contract extension. Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the deal comes with an annual cap hit of $825K, not a bad payday for a player who had played in just a single NHL game prior to the start of the 2022-23 season.
The 25-year-old enjoyed a solid first season in the NHL putting up seven goals and 11 points in 27 NHL games. Duehr also holds the unusual distinction of being the first South Dakota born player to score a goal in the NHL.
Prior to his breakthrough last season Duehr had spent two plus seasons playing in the AHL with Calgary’s AHL affiliates and four seasons in the NCAA with Minnesota State University. Despite his 11 points with the Flames last season in limited action, Duehr has never been one to put up much in the way of offense. He hasn’t eclipsed 27 points at any level dating back to 2011-12, however given his low cap hit and his track record, he likely won’t be relied upon for anything more than bottom six minutes.
It’s a gamble for Calgary, but given the work to be done this summer re-tooling a team that disappointed in the regular season, it was a safe, low risk move to make with a player they are quite familiar with.
Dustin Wolf Wins AHL MVP
One of the major factors that sunk the Calgary Flames’ 2022-23 season (besides the stunning production decline from team offensive centerpiece Jonathan Huberdeau) was the decline in goaltending quality coach Darryl Sutter’s team received. Jacob Markstrom was a Vezina Trophy contender in his first season as a Flame, posting a .922 save percentage in 63 games. Even backup Daniel Vladar was good, putting up a .906 through 23 starts after his offseason trade from the Boston Bruins. This season, though, both regressed significantly and played to save percentages below .900.
That reality facing the Flames in the crease makes today’s announcement that Calgary’s top prospect Dustin Wolf, 22, was named the league’s Les Cunningham Award Winner. (MVP) Wolf is the American League’s youngest MVP since Jason Spezza won it after his 117-point 2004-05 season, and it comes after he posted a near-bulletproof .932 save percentage in 55 games played. As FloHockey’s Chris Peters notes, this is the fourth straight season Wolf has won Goaltender of the Year in the league he’s played in, and his lowest save percentage as a junior or pro player has been a .924. Although there is much uncertainty facing the Flames organization in the aftermath of former GM Brad Treliving’s departure, Wolf is undoubtedly a player to be excited about.
Minor Notes: Wolf, U18, Viveiros
The Calgary Flames had a disappointing season that ended with them on the outside of the playoff picture. Their AHL affiliate, on the other hand, has been enjoying a tremendous 2022-23 season and finished first in the AHL standings with a 51-17-4 record. They ended up in first place in the AHL standings and will begin their Calder Cup chase next week. That is little consolation to Flames fans today, who were expecting a competitive NHL team this season, and not just a great minor league team to hand their hat on.
One reason for future hope in Calgary is goaltender Dustin Wolf who played a huge role in the Calgary Wranglers leading the way in the AHL. Wolf was named the winner of the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s best goaltender. The 22-year-old goaltender was the leader in goals-against average (2.09) save percentage (.932) and shutouts with seven. In his final two years of Junior, Wolf was named the top goaltender in the WHL and now he has won that award in his first two pro seasons at the AHL level.
- USA Hockey announced its roster for the upcoming World Under-18 Championships. The team promises to be a high-scoring one as the roster is headlined by forwards Will Smith, Gabe Perreault, Ryan Leonard, Oliver Moore who will all be selected in the first round of the upcoming 2023 NHL Draft. Cole Eiserman, a top-ranked prospect for the 2024 NHL Draft is also on the roster. USA begins its tournament with a game tomorrow against Latvia. The event is taking place in Switzerland. USA will be looking for its first gold medal at the event since 2017.
- Per a team release, the Vegas Golden Knights announced Manny Viveiros will be leaving the organization. Viveiros has been the head coach of the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights since their inception in 2020. In their first year of existence, the team had a 25-13-1 record in a Covid-shortened season, and followed that up with a 34-28-5 record in 2021-22. The team struggled this season however, finished outside the Calder Cup Playoffs with a record of 29-38-5. Viveiros’ contract is set to expire on June 30 and it will not be renewed.