Conroy talks transition to new role with Flames in Q&A with NHL.com

In NHL.com's Q&A feature called "Sitting Down with …" we talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. In this edition, we feature Calgary Flames general manager Craig Conroy.

WASHINGTON -- Craig Conroy views the Calgary Flames as a work in progress, as well as one with potential, early in his first season as general manager.

The Flames are 1-1-1 through their first three games following a 3-2 shootout loss to the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Monday.

“I can tell we’re still looking for that chemistry with the lines, still trying to figure out [defense] pairings a little bit, systems that we’ve changed,” Conroy said. “You can tell the timing is a little off to start, but as it becomes more second nature, it’s only going to get better.”

Conroy, who played 16 seasons in the NHL as a forward, including nine with the Flames, before retiring in 2011, was promoted after nine seasons as an assistant GM to replace Brad Treliving as GM on May 23. The 52-year-old inherited a team that was 38-27-17 last season and finished two points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference after it was 50-21-11 and finished first in the Pacific Division in 2021-22.

It’s been a busy and emotional past month for Conroy with training camp, the start of the season, signing forward Mikael Backlund to a two-year, $9 million contract, trying to sign forward Elias Lindholm to a new contract and the death of his close friend, assistant GM Chris Snow, from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) on Sept. 30. NHL.com sat down with Conroy to discuss all of that and more.

What has it been like going through your first offseason and start of a season as GM?

“It’s been good. It’s a tough year. Because of the salary cap, there was really no money. We were pretty tight. With a lot of our guys, their contracts kicked in, so really it was [an offseason] where you’re just trying to find some smaller pieces, guys that can fit in and give us some depth, especially on the back end just to get (Jordan) Oesterle and to make sure we have enough depth going into the season. Then, of course, we had some injuries to start. That was the thing. I’ve been here a long time and we really never had, knock on wood, too many injuries and then lose two guys having shoulder surgery within two days of each other (forwards Jakob Pelletier and Kevin Rooney) was not a way I’d have wanted to start it.”

Did you know you wanted to be in management when you were a player?

“I don’t know. I kind of thought I wanted to coach at one point and, then as I got older, I thought, ‘I can’t be moving around like this.’ I’ve gotten traded here or there. And I always loved, I hate to say it, I loved fantasy baseball and putting those teams together and watching the teams and making trades. I know it’s just fantasy baseball, but then you’re on this side and now there’s running scouting staffs and you’re with the pros, amateurs. There’s way more to it, but still, I love the draft and free agency.”

Is it a big difference from your old job as assistant GM?

“It’s weird. I probably watch our team more now. I used to watch free agents on the other teams, guys that we’re targeting. Brad would say, ‘Hey, you know what? I’ve been talking to teams about these players. Keep an eye on them.’ So, you’re always trying to watch the other team. Now, I’m focusing in on our team more and our systems and what we’re trying to do. Other than that, all the decisions that come down, when we’re leaving, where do we want to stay, all those things that I think you probably don’t think about, you get all those questions also.

“So, it’s been busy, and then, obviously, training camp with losing Chris Snow, hopefully this is the hardest training camp I ever have. It just happens to be the first one. The good thing is I feel very comfortable with all the people in the organization and the support staff around me. You couldn’t ask for a better group of people.”

You were close with Chris. How difficult were the past few weeks?

“It’s hard. We went to Penticton (for the Young Stars Classic) and we had just a great rookie tournament and everyone was there. He brought his family with him. Everything seemed like it as going really well. They worry about your lungs and breathing, and his lungs were really good. He was excited about his last visit. So, he was a little tired when he got back to Calgary and you just thought ‘OK, take a few days’ and you never knew that was going to be the last time (he saw him). So, it was unexpected. Even though he’s been battling ALS for five years, he’s always battled through this stuff. So, it was hard. It’s weird when you walk in and you’re the first one there and you turn the lights on, and you know ‘Snowy’s not going to be there.”

How has Ryan Huska handled things so far as a first-time NHL head coach?

“You know, I like it. It was a hard camp. As much as we wanted to change things and we wanted to have a little bit more fun atmosphere around the rink, still this is pro hockey, and we want to be competitive, and the bottom line is we want to win games. So, I think he’s got a good combination. He can have fun, but he’s got an edge to him. I think people don’t realize that, and I think the players know that. Talking to them after one of the games, he came in between the second and third and he gave it to them. They were like, ‘Woah,’ because they’ve seen him as an assistant coach. He’s got lots of good ideas. He knows what he wants. When we talk about it and (he says), ‘we’re not there, yet.’ And that’s the thing. Would we love to be there? Yeah. We just haven’t hit our stride.”

Do you sense a determination among the players to prove something this season after missing the playoffs last season?

“For sure. We thought we’d make the playoffs last year and continue. We had a good year the year before, won a round (in the playoffs) and then you don’t make the playoffs. So, it was a step back. You bring in (Nazem) Kadri, (Jonathan) Huberdeau, (MacKenzie) Weeger and those things just didn’t seem to work out the way we in our mind kind of envisioned it. But I think everybody this summer they came back, and you look at the testing scores, they’re in better shape, they’re ready to go and they seem every focused. They want to prove, ‘Hey, last year was kind of an anomaly. We’re going to get back on track here.”

You signed Backlund to a new contract (beginning next season) and named him captain. How important was that to establishing the direction the Flames want to go?

“I played with ‘Backs,’ so I know him. I know what kind of person he is and he kind of is what we want the Calgary Flames to be: his work ethic, what he does off the ice, in the community, being a leader on the ice. Just to have him in the fold, I think he can do something special. Him and Jarome Iginla could be the only two players to have 1,000 games, when he hits it, with the Calgary Flames (he’s played 911). I think it’s big, and it kind of sends a message to the rest of our guys. At the end of [last season], there was all the rumors. I get it. It was a disappointing year for me, too. Guys wanted to see where we were going. So, I think by him kind of saying, ‘I’m committed. I want to be here,’ I think it sends a good message to the city, to the team, and gets us going.”

Lindholm can become an unrestricted free agent after this season. Where do things stand in contract talks with him?

“It’s like every negotiation. You’re always going back and forth. They have an idea of what the value is, we have an idea of where we think it is and we’re just not quite there, yet.”

What needs to happen for the Flames to be successful this season?

“I think the goaltending bouncing back. Some of our guys just bouncing back. Overall, everybody having just a little bit better year and we feel like if that happens, we’ll be in that playoff mix. We’ll be in there. We just missed it by a few points last year, so it was tough to take, but we know it’s not going to be easy. The West is not getting any easier. Vegas is Stanley Cup champs. Edmonton is right there. You look at what L.A. did in the summer. Seattle has taken steps and Vancouver is a very good team. So, you look at all those teams in the West and there’s never an easy night and you know it’s going to be a battle right until the end.”