Flames could lose Mitch Love after Ryan Huska hiring: report
The Calgary Flames’ hiring of Ryan Huska may come at a costly price.
While the Flames organization was thrilled to announce Huska as their new head coach at a press conference on Monday, it may result in Mitch Love seeking an opportunity elsewhere.
Love, like Huska, was an internal option considered for the vacancy and was thought by many to be the front-runner. After failing to land the job, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff thinks the two-time AHL coach of the year could end up with a different organization next season.
“With Flames expected to name Ryan Huska [as their] next head coach shortly, two-time AHL coach of the year Mitch Love has term on his contract with the Calgary organization, but plans to consider all options moving forward,” Seravalli said in a tweet.
With #Flames expected to name Ryan Huska next head coach shortly, two-time AHL coach of the year Mitch Love has term on his contract with the Calgary organization, but plans to consider all of his options moving forward.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 12, 2023
In his two seasons serving as the head coach of the Flames’ AHL affiliate in Stockton and now Calgary, Love has amassed a record of 96-33-11. That, along with the strong development of prospects in Jakob Pelletier, Connor Zary, Jeremie Poirier, and Dustin Wolf, made him a strong contender for the Flames job.
Speaking at Monday’s press conference, however, GM Craig Conroy suggested that Love may need some time as an assistant coach at the NHL level before being ready as a head coach.
“I told Mitch, and I’ll be honest today. I think he needs a little time in the NHL. Even as a player, when I went from the American League to the NHL, there is a step and a learning curve. To just get thrust into that without going through it, that’s not fair to him.”
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Conroy’s comments make sense given that he ended up selecting Huska. The 47-year-old has spent the past five seasons as an assistant coach with the Flames, and prior to that had four years of head coaching experience in the AHL.
Conroy also mentioned that Love will be a candidate to be one of Huska’s assistant coaches for the upcoming season. As Seravalli mentioned, however, all options are on the table here, and with Love’s success in a short time in the AHL, there may be another team willing to give him the opportunity he is seeking.