After reports emerged late on Thursday evening that the Calgary Flames had found a favourite to be the next Head Coach of the franchise, NHL Insider Kevin Weekes is now reporting that assistant coach Ryan Huska will officially make the jump to Head Coach beginning immediately, with a press conference to likely be held on Monday.
While the Flames went 103-63-28 in Darryl Sutter’s return to the bench, it became clear throughout a tumultuous 2022-23 campaign that he’s not the right fit for this franchise, and with a roster that’s capable of winning plenty of games, this could end up being an outstanding choice from Calgary.
https://twitter.com/KevinWeekes/status/1667282015320768518
After serving as an assistant coach on the Flames since 2018, Huska’s patience, much like Craig Conroy’s finally paid off, as he will now have the chance to build his own staff and make a true impact on this team, while maintaining the chemistry and relationship he’s built with the players over that time.
Sure, the Flames have plenty of work to do this off-season, with decisions to be made on the future of their goaltending, plenty of upcoming free agents and a key NHL Draft in three weeks, but now they’ve found their General Manager and Head Coach, it gives them plenty of clarity going forward.
For now though, Flames fans can feel a little more confident that the team went through a thorough search, and with a new Head Coach, the future of this team can begin to take shape as Calgary look to bounce back from a poor 2022 campaign and once again make a push for the playoffs.