September 26, 2022 | 1:30pm ET
By Anthony Di Marco, TheFourthPeriod.com

A BURNING FLAME: CONROY’S ROAD TO CALGARY’S FRONT OFFICE

Flames Assistant GM Craig Conroy

MONTREAL, QC — The career average for an NHL player is four and a half years. It may not seem like a lot, but when you’re living it, it takes a toll on you – physically and mentally. It takes a special type of athlete, and person, to be able to accomplish such a feat.

Now imagine playing in “The Show” in parts of 18 seasons. That is what Craig Conroy did from 1994 through 2011.

A native of Potsdam, New York, Conroy was drafted to the Montreal Canadiens in the sixth-round in the 1990 NHL Draft. He only played 13 games with the Canadiens before being traded to the St. Louis Blues in 1996, where he would finally cement himself as an everyday NHLer.

Playing parts of five seasons with the Blues, Conroy would prove to be a solid, two-way centre capable of chipping in 25 to 40 points. During the 2000-01 season, Conroy was traded to the Calgary Flames, a team where he would enjoy the lion’s share of his success on the ice. Going to a Stanley Cup Final in 2004, Conroy had his career-best campaign in 2001-02, registering 27 goals and 75 points in 81 regular-season games.

After a brief one-and-a-half-year stint with the Los Angeles Kings post-2005 NHL Lockout, Conroy would be traded back to the Flames during the 2006-07 season. He would stay with the club until his eventual retirement in February 2011 during the 2010-11 season. In an unconventional fashion, Conroy would make a direct transition to management immediately after retiring in the middle of the campaign.

“I had some opportunity on the TV side, my college team had offered me the job to coach back at Clarkson (University) and (Former Flames President) Ken King offered me the job to stay here (in Calgary),” said Conroy in an exclusive interview with TFP. “Ken and (Flames Owner) Murray Edwards asked me what’s the one thing that I haven’t done that I wanted to do – and obviously that’s win the Stanley Cup. That’s the whole goal, to win a Stanley Cup. Right from the start they said, ‘we’ll let you do a bit of everything and see what you like.’ On the business side or hockey side, Ken was really positive and always kept me in meetings.

“It was a little weird being around the team (at first) because I was friends with so many of them. I retired halfway through the year after the All-Star Game, and I started a week later. So, I didn’t even really catch my breath.”

While the transition from player to management was a little odd at first, Conroy mentioned how then-Captain Jarome Iginla stressed to be himself around the rest of the locker room. After all, Conroy had played almost every type of role and up and down lineups in the NHL, so it was easy for him to relate to all types of players.

Being able to explore all facets of the operations side – like scouting college players and player development – helped him get a feel for what everything was all about. For Conroy, it was an eye opener seeing how much really went on behind the scenes of a team, much more than he ever thought while being a player.

Most players tend to explore a post-on ice career, whether it be coaching, management or media. But what was it about management that drew Conroy in, especially having so many other options?

“Something about building something from the ground up and putting all the pieces together,” said Conroy. “Like pieces to a puzzle and eventually building a team into a Stanley Cup Champion. That’s kind of the goal.

“Part of it was also for stability, to be in one place to let my kids all finish school.”

Conroy did have a chance to go behind the bench temporarily during Bob Hartley’s tenure as Calgary’s Head Coach several years back. While acknowledging that coaching is fun and the closest thing to being a player again, it was a more demanding job in terms of workload and turnover. That, coupled with the ability to build something, made management more appealing.

In the later stages of his career, Conroy became a leader in Calgary, dawning the “A” for parts of it. Already a leader himself, he had a chance to play with very good leaders, as well.

Over his career, skating alongside the likes of Iginla, Al MacInnis, Chris Pronger and Mattias Norstrom allowed Conroy to absorb what they did on the ice and take it to him through his career, even in management. It allowed him to learn how to work in groups and make sure everyone is pulling in the same direction.

Off the ice, Conroy has had the opportunity to work with current Flames General Manager Brad Treliving for the last nine years. Treliving was hired a little over three years after Conroy transitioned into management, and the experience has been a big help for him advancing his executive career.

“It’s been great. Brad is very forthcoming with everything. You know what’s going on and you’re always in the loop,” explained Conroy, who also sung the praises of Brian Burke, the club’s President of Hockey Operations from 2013 through 2018. “He’s always on the phone trying to improve the team. He is one of those guys who is fun to be around, he’s enjoyable. You’re around everybody so much that it makes a huge difference. Very competitive.

“With Brad, his ability to keep everyone in the loop and feel a part of it at all times.”

Conroy did admit this past summer was fairly hectic, with the Flames going through major roster changes. Superstar forwards Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk moved on to the Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers, respectively. The Flames brought in Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and Mackenzie Weegar to help fill the voids; Sonny Milano and Cody Eakin are also attending training camp on Professional Try-Outs.

The Flames were one of the league’s best teams a season ago, losing in the second-round to the Edmonton Oilers. Changes of this magnitude can have major effects on a group, especially one coming off a successful regular-season.

“I think when you bring in the quality of people that we brought in, you hope it continues in the regular-season, but you want to take another step in the playoffs,” said Conroy. “You look at Huberdeau, obviously Kadri winning the Cup, we brought in Blake Coleman (a year ago) is one of those guys who won in Tampa, being able to come in here, to have that kind of character with Milan Lucic.

“You want guys who have won it and hopefully we’re adding more of those pieces; you’re hoping that translates regular season success into the playoffs.”

Of all the names brought in over the last 15 months or so, none was bigger than Huberdeau.

The 29-year-old was acquired from the Panthers (along with Weegar) for Tkachuk. Less than a month later, the Flames signed Huberdeau to an eight-year, $84 million contract; Huberdeau is in the final year of his current deal carrying an AAV of $5.9 million.

Getting the Montreal-native locked up was incredibly important for the Flames after going through after losing another 115-point player in Gaudreau via free agency.

“Extremely (important that we locked him in right away),” Conroy admitted. “For us, to go through what we just went through with Gaudreau and Tkachuk, we wanted to get it done as quickly as we can. You’re just hoping (Huberdeau) wants to make that commitment to us too.

“To be able to get him in, get him signed and know that he’s made that commitment to us, and we made it to him is huge.”

Conroy added that locking up Huberdeau showed the rest of the team that management was committed to winning a Stanley Cup, a message that was well received. Although not their intention, had they been forced to “pivot” towards more of a retool, they would’ve done so, but the Florida deal allowed them to keep their window of contention open.

With Huberdeau locked up, is Weegar next?

“We’re in the process of talking to him,” said Conroy. “Obviously, we want to get him done, too. You wish it was (easy) all like Huberdeau, but some things take longer than others. But he’s expressed wanting to be here too which is exciting.

“Being able to get him signed is a priority.”

A late addition to the training camp roster, Milano was brought in on a PTO. The 26-year-old is coming off of a solid season with the Anaheim Ducks, but was a victim of the salary cap. During a media scrum last week, Milano acknowledged he had other options, but being able to compete for an available spot in Calgary’s top-nine made that the best spot for him.

“He has top-nine skill,” said Conroy. “With the salary cap going the way it is, you need to find players of that caliber at a price that we can afford.”

As Conroy mentioned, finding players at low costs who can perform at a high level is crucial with the current “flat cap” world of the NHL. Young players on ELCs are especially valuable, like 2019 first-round pick Jakob Pelletier. After scoring at almost a point-per-game in the AHL last season, the Flames are expecting him to make that next step and push for an NHL job this season.

After the success of last year’s regular-season just to get bounced in Round 2, is it cup or bust in Calgary? What is the ultimate goal for this season?

“Make the playoffs is the first goal and then make a long run,” said Conroy. “You look at what Colorado did, they had some disappointing years in the playoffs and then they came through. You just need to give yourself a chance every year.

“Make the playoffs and make a run would be the goal for this year.”

Now the Assistant GM in Calgary, Conroy’s assent through the Flames’ organization has stayed predominantly linear since his move to management more than 11 years ago. With things having gone so well thus far in his executive career, what does the future hold for Conroy in the executive world?

“With being such a competitive person, you want to be the guy, at some point, driving the bus,” he said. “You put your time in, you’re learning all the different aspects – amateur scouting, pro scouting, contracts, free agency. You’re kind of building all that to hopefully one day run your own team; I think that’s the end goal. Teams that win Stanley Cups, the guys that are underneath usually get an opportunity somewhere.

“I just want to win the Stanley Cup and if it translates into something more it will be a bonus.”

With how well things have gone in Calgary for Conroy, it is hard to imagine that he one day won’t be in the GM chair somewhere in the NHL. He already has over a decade of experience under his belt in the front office. Now it’s about putting the icing on the cake in the form of a Stanley Cup. Should the Flames be able to achieve that feat sooner rather than later, it could be the final feather Conroy needs in his cap to seal the job in the big chair somewhere.

But for the time being, that is not what matters for 51-year-old exec. What matters is continuing to build the Flames towards a Stanley Cup, something that remains within reach after this off-season’s blockbusters moves.