Brad Treliving’s run as Flames general manager had a familiar flaw: the coaching carousel never really stopped spinning.
Across nine years in Calgary, he cycled through five head coaches, and almost all of them eventually landed somewhere else after their time with the Flames ended. Some resurfaced in the NHL.
Some went overseas. One never looked like an NHL option again.
Here’s where that group ended up.
Bob Hartley was the first one in the chair. Jay Feaster hired him, and Treliving kept him around after arriving in Calgary.
Hartley brought a hard edge and got the Flames to one game under .500, which was still enough to win the Jack Adams Award in 2015 when Calgary reached the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. After that, there wasn’t much NHL buzz around him.
He was rumored for the Colorado Avalanche in 2016 after they moved on from Patrick Roy, but that was just fan chatter. Hartley went to the KHL, won Coach of the Year and two championships, including one in the 2025-2026 season, and then announced his retirement.
Flames record: 2012-2016 (294 games: 134-135-25)
Prospects of a new NHL job: 0%. Nobody will be coaxing him out of retirement.
Glen Gulutzan came next, and his Calgary stint is probably best remembered for him slamming his stick into the stands during practice. That said, he never really left the NHL.
Since 2011, he’s stayed employed in the league, and after Calgary he joined the Edmonton Oilers as an assistant and helped drive their power play to record-setting numbers, though the exact share of credit is up for debate. Last summer, he returned to head coaching, taking over the Dallas Stars, the same place where he started in 2011.
Flames record: 2016-2018 (164 games: 82-68-14)
Prospects of a new NHL job: 70%. In the NHL, coaching often feels like musical chairs, and Gulutzan still has enough experience to stay in the game.
Bill Peters was Treliving’s answer to Gulutzan’s perceived softness, but his Calgary run ended in disgrace. Despite a strong record, he resigned in November 2019 after former NHL player Akim Aliu accused him of using racial slurs, and other players accused him of physical abuse.
The NHL investigated the allegations, but never banned him. Peters spent a year coaching in the KHL, then two years in the WHL, and is now behind the bench in the DEL, Germany’s top league.
No team has reportedly considered him for an NHL job since his resignation.
Flames record: 2018-2019 (110 games: 62-37-11)
Prospects of a new NHL job: 0%. No team in their right mind would go near him, and neither will the Edmonton Oilers, who just hired Mike Babcock.
Geoff Ward got thrown into the fire during the Bill Peters fallout, taking over as interim coach for the rest of that 2019 season. The Flames were already rolling, and Ward rode that wave into the permanent job the next year.
It didn’t last. He was fired 24 games into the season when it became obvious he was overmatched.
After that, he spent one season as an assistant with the Anaheim Ducks before stepping away for personal reasons. Since 2022-23, he has been coaching in Switzerland’s National League and has done very well there, with a first-place finish, a final appearance, and two Coach of the Year awards.
Flames record: 2019-2021 (66 games: 35-26-5)
Prospects of a new NHL job: 5%. A head-coaching return looks unlikely, but his resume could still draw interest for an assistant role.
Darryl Sutter was the last coach of Treliving’s Calgary era, and there was heavy rumor, though never confirmation, that ownership wanted that hire. It was his second go-round with the Flames, after his first stint included a trip to the 2004 Stanley Cup Final.
This time, he delivered right away: 111 points in his first full season, the Flames’ best record since the 1988-89 Cup-winning team, and a Jack Adams Award. The next season went the other way.
The players quit on the demanding coach, Calgary fell out of the playoffs, and Sutter was fired.
Since leaving, he’s gone back to farming and ranching. He also co-authored his biography, The Code of the West: Lessons From the Ranch and the Rink, which is set for release on October 13th, 2026.
Flames record: 2021-2023 (194 games: 103-63-28)
Prospects of a new NHL job: 99%. He could get another NHL job if he wants one, but he seems content on the farm.
Treliving himself left the Flames on April 17, 2023. Two weeks later, Sutter was out as the organization wiped the slate clean.
On May 23, 2023, the Flames promoted Treliving’s assistant, Craig Conroy, to GM, and he hired Ryan Huska as head coach. In October 2025, Conroy signed Huska to a two-year extension, and the two are still working together.
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