Brad Treliving is no longer GM of the Flames

Expectations were high in Calgary this year, and the Flames missed the boat. In fact, Darryl Sutter’s team had all the tools they needed to – at the very least – qualify for the playoffs… And they simply couldn’t do it.

Last summer, Brad Treliving (GM) made a lot of changes to his team, including trading Matthew Tkachuk to Florida and letting Johnny Gaudreau go on the free agent market. Clearly, Treliving didn’t win his bet, and his team disappointed again. With things no longer working out within the organization and his contract set to expire in June, the Flames’ GM will not be returning next year, the Calgary franchise announced on Twitter. At the same time, the Flames stated that Don Maloney has been promoted to President of Hockey Operations, and will also serve as Interim General Manager. The team will begin the search for its next GM “immediately”:

There’s a lot going on in Calgary, and it’s not necessarily a surprise. You’d expect changes to be made to the management team, but Darryl Sutter has been singled out for the team’s recent failings. The players have their share of the blame, of course. But, after all, Sutter had a pretty talented team on hand and wasn’t able to make things work. Therein lies the problem. The possibility of the veteran coach’s dismissal has been raised and is alive and well in the minds of many fans in Calgary… But for now, all indications are that he’ll be back in the job next year. I did say “for now”. At least, that’s what Fran Seravalli reported on Twitter… And the tipster goes on to say that this probably played a role in Brad Treviling’s decision to leave the team.

Sutter doesn’t seem to have the unanimous support of the Flames and that’s exactly why I wonder why he hasn’t been fired yet. That said, there’s nothing to indicate that the new GM will be open to the idea of continuing with him behind the bench, which is why he’s still the team’s coach “for now”. In short, things have moved pretty quickly in Calgary, and they’re not likely to calm down in the next few days. It’s going to be another busy summer for the Flames organization and its fans.

In Brief

– Yes, yes and yes again.

– Will he hang up his skates?

– Please note :

– Is it any surprise?