With the Draft Approaching, Flames Announce Two More Hirings

One week before the NHL Entry Draft the Flames‘ coaching staff is finally coming into form as the club announced the hiring of former NHL goalie Clint Malarchuk as goaltending coach this morning. Malarchuk replaces Jamie MacLennan, who was with the Flames for two years before the team chose not to renew his contract earlier in the off-season and he decided not to accept another position within the organization.

I don’t know much about Malarchuk’s prior career as a goalie coach, but by the sounds of it he has been well-receivedin stints with the Atlanta Thrashers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Florida Panthers. Regardless of his career after hockey, Malarchuk will forever be remembered for this horrifying accident, something which Rene Bourque can no doubt relate to, as he had a scare of his own in a similar albeit far less severe incident with the Blackhawks.

The Flames also announced the addition of video analyst Chris Snow, who will join the team full-time under the official title of Director of Video Analysis after doing similar work with the Minnesota Wild previously. He'll probably work alongside Jamie Pringle, who was also brought on as a video analyst at the same time that Craig Hartsburg was hired, but what Snow could potentially bring to the table is likely of far more interest to those who follow the team closely (via Flames Nation): 

“It didn’t take long for us to recognize that we would benefit greatly by having Chris join us full time. He will be a resource for our players, coaches, scouts and management team, and hiw work will enable us to apply more advanced metrics and analysis to our player acquisition process.”

For Feaster, a former lawyer who is widely known for his approachability and prowess where contract negotiations and legal work is concerned, this seems like a very good move–something we all hope to see more of from the GM in the near future. 

by Hayley Mutch