Flames Fill Out Coaching Staff Amid Player Turmoil

Ryan Huska has filled up his bench spots for the Calgary Flames.

Along with the official announcement of the Marc Savard hiring to run the offence and powerplay comes word that Dan Lambert will be the man to replace Huska as the leader of the defence and penalty kill.

Lambert and Huska go way back to their WHL coaching days with the Kelowna Rockets, where Lambert served as an assistant under Huska for three years before taking over head coaching duties when Huska moved up to the AHL. Lambert was an assistant with the Nashville Predators the past four years.

“We feel those past relationships will allow us to get up to speed quicker and hit the ground running,” Calgary Flames GM Craig Conroy said in a release. “While Dan will be running our defence, he also provides well-balanced experience, having run the powerplay in Nashville the past four years.

“The focus is keeping the puck out of the net, but Dan’s approach generates an offensive flair from the back end.”

Offence is definitely a focus for the Flames for the coming season, even as it appears some of their top providers could be headed elsewhere on the NHL trade market.

Savard, who had interviewed for the Flames head coaching position, is tasked with unlocking the Flames offence — something he’s done successfully in two seasons with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires and previously at the NHL level during the 2019-20 campaign when he was an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues.

“I know how competitive Marc is from when we played together over three seasons here in Calgary,” said Conroy, who took over as Jarome Iginla’s centre after a Savard injury in 2001-02. “Savy has a great offensive mind which will help boost our powerplay and help drive our offensive game.

“His style was very well known as a player, and he sees the game the same way as a coach.”

The Calgary Flames coaching staff is now complete with Huska, assistants Dan Lambert, Savard and Cail MacLean, goalie coach Jason LaBarbera and video coach Jamie Pringle.