Craig Conroy hasn’t scribbled this many signatures since his playing days.
The next contract requiring his autograph should probably be his own.
The Calgary Flames’ general manager continued to add to a stack of significant paperwork Thursday when he inked head coach Ryan Huska to a two-year extension. That comes on the heels of a new deal for captain Mikael Backlund, plus long-term commitments to rising-star goalie Dustin Wolf, defenceman Kevin Bahl and right-winger Matt Coronato.
All the while, Conroy is working into the final year of his current contract.
When he was named the Flames’ general manager in May of 2023, he signed for a three-season span. Until Thursday morning, he and Huska had matching expiration dates.
With the way that Conroy has restocked Calgary’s prospect pipeline, the first priority for any retooling organization, it seems like a no-brainer for his bosses — among them, majority owner Murray Edwards and president of hockey operations Don Maloney — to want to keep him around to continue laying the foundation for a future contender.
Huska talked Thursday about feeling “appreciative” for his added years at the helm, “because I truly believe we’re going in the right direction as a team” and “as much as we would love to snap our fingers and get it there right now, the reality is it’s not the case and it does take time.”
Well, shouldn’t that same logic apply to the gent who makes the trades, manages the salary cap and has final say on the draft picks?
Related
“Right now, this is about Ryan,” Conroy protested when asked Thursday about his own contract status. “Ownership has always … I’ve been here a long time. I feel very comfortable with where I am. But it’s all about Ryan. I wanted to make sure Ryan got done and get ready for the season so now there is no distractions from you guys every day asking him what’s going on with his contract.”
Those questions can now be directed to Conroy, who was a fan favourite as a centre and now has the full faith of most in the C of Red.
That’s a compliment to the work he’s done so far as GM. His next big challenge will be to sort out Rasmus Andersson’s future as the workhorse defenceman skates toward unrestricted free agency.
“I, from Day 1, have been a believer in Craig’s plan that he has here,” the freshly-extended Huska told reporters Thursday. “The communication and the conversations that we’ve had, I’m good with where we’re going to push this team and how we’re going to push it, and the players see that. So expectations from our coaching staff are the same expectations that management has for the team — that they put their best on the ice every night, they’re competitive and we’re going to push for a playoff spot. And our expectation is that we’ll be there.”