Gallant, Green, Savard among Flames' coaching candidates
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The Calgary Flames coaching search is in full swing this week as the franchise looks to replace Darryl Sutter, who was let go earlier this month.
After naming Craig Conroy as the team's general manager last week, the Flames are setting up interviews with a long list of candidates. Those names include Gerard Gallant, former Vancouver Canucks coach Travis Green, several internal candidates, and ex-NHLer Marc Savard, who is currently serving as head coach of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires.
"On Monday, they moved into full gear," TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger said Tuesday on Insider Trading. "And what that means is internal discussions among the management group and the process of beginning Zoom calls with some of the candidates and also seeking permission for those who are under contract. We talked about this last week.
"I look at Gerard Gallant – an experienced NHL coach recently let go by the New York Rangers – as being a top qualified candidate. I look at Travis Green – if he's not scooped up by another team that's in the market for a head coach, he'll be a top candidate. The internal guys include Kirk Muller, Mitch Love, Ryan Huska – all strong candidates. And here's one kind of out of left field: the Ontario Hockey League and Windsor Spitfires' Marc Savard, who is believed to be getting some consideration as well."
The Flames parted ways with general manager Brad Treliving and fired Sutter after missing the playoffs with a 38-27-17 record this season. Calgary has made the postseason in three of the past five years, reaching the second round for the first time since 2015 last spring.
TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reported earlier on Tuesday the Flames had reached out to Gallant to gauge his interest and found the 59-year-old was open to moving west. Gallant was fired by the Rangers after the team's Game 7 loss to the New Jersey Devils in the first round of this year's playoffs.
Green, 52, was last behind the bench with the Canucks during the 2021-22 season, when he was fired after an 8-15-2 start to the season. He spent five seasons as the Canucks head coach after previously holding the same role for four seasons with the AHL's Utica Comets.
Muller has served as an associate coach with the Flames in each of the past two seasons. The 57-year-old served as head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes for three seasons from 2011-2014, missing the playoffs all three years.
Love, 38, guided the AHL's Calgary Wranglers to a 51-17-4 record this season before falling to the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the Pacific Division Finals. Love moved into his role with the Flames' AHL affiliate in 2021 after three years as head coach of the WHL's Saskatoon Blades.
Huska has spent the past five seasons as an assistant coach on the Flames bench. The 47-year-old spent four years as head coach of the Stockton Heat before moving into the NHL ranks and spent seven seasons as head coach of the WHL's Kelowna Rockets prior to joining the Heat.
Savard, a veteran of 807 career NHL games, just completed his second season as Spitfires as head coach. The 45-year-old, who last played with the Boston Bruins during the 2010-11 season, spent the 2019-20 season as an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues.