Flames coaching choice down to four candidates with new name revealed: report

Another candidate has been added to the Calgary Flames’ head coaching search.

In his most recent 32 Thoughts podcast episode, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman brought up a name that has yet to be discussed: Todd Reirden.

“One other person I’ve heard there is Todd Reirden,” Friedman said. “In one of [the Flames’] previous coaching searches, Todd Reirden was a finalist. When I heard that while I was travelling the other day, it made sense to me.

“What it kind of says to me is that Craig Conroy is going through some of their previous history of coaching interviews and saying, ‘Well, we liked that guy back then, let’s relook at it here.'”

Reirden, 51, became the Washington Capitals’ head coach after the team won the Stanley Cup in 2018. He held the position for two years before being fired after getting eliminated twice in the first round and has since spent the last three years as an assistant coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Before being named the Capitals’ head coach, Reirden spent four seasons with the team as an assistant coach and also had worked as an assistant coach with the Penguins years before. He also had a brief NHL playing career, which saw him suit up for 183 games split between the Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Atlanta Thrashers, and Phoenix Coyotes.

Friedman went on to say that he believes two internal candidates, Mitch Love and Ryan Huska, are still in the running and that there are two external candidates in the mix: Reirden and former Vancouver Canucks head coach Travis Green. He did not bring up Gerard Gallant, who had received some discussion in previous weeks.

While a decision has yet to be made, it appears Conroy and the rest of the Flames management group are getting down to their final few candidates. There has been no date set as to when they plan to name their new head coach, but it sounds like they are getting close.

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