Craig Conroy ‘odds-on favourite’ to be next GM of Flames

If you spotted a recognizable face in the past week at Calgary International Airport, it could have been one of the candidates to be the next general manager of the Flames.

Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported Friday on Twitter that Marc Bergevin, Stan Bowman and Dave Nonis were among those to visit Cowtown for in-person interviews.

All three have GM experience in the NHL —  Bergevin with the Montreal Canadiens, Bowman with the Chicago Blackhawks and Nonis with the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Seravalli added that he thinks the frontrunner is a guy who didn’t need to book a flight for his sitdown at the Saddledome.

“If we were handicapping, odds-on favorite would be Craig Conroy,” Seravalli wrote.

Conroy has been a fixture with the Flames for most of the past two decades, as a first-line centre and later in the front office. He’s been one of Calgary’s assistant general manager for the past nine seasons.

Bergevin is now a senior adviser for the Los Angeles Kings, while Nonis is currently working in the media. Bowman resigned from his position as GM and president of hockey operations in Chicago in October 2021 after the Blackhawks’ sexual assault investigation and must be reinstated by commissioner Gary Bettman before he can accept another job in the league.