The Calgary Flames wrapped up their coaching staff under head coach Ryan Houska and announced the hiring of assistants Dan Lambert and Marc Savard on Friday.
The 53-year-old Lambert began his coaching career in 2009 as an assistant for the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL led by Huska. Three years later, Lambert was promoted to head coach as he eventually led the Rockets to the 2015 WHL Championship before losing to the Oshawa Generals in the Memorial Cup Final.
A native of St. Boniface, Mann became an assistant coach for the Buffalo Sabers in 2015 and was later named head coach of the AHL’s Rochester Americans before being fired in 2017. He joined the NHL as an assistant for the Nashville Predators in 2019.
Lambert played 29 NHL games with the Quebec Nordiques in the early 1990s, scoring six goals and nine assists.
Dan served as the backup to Kelowna’s Ryan Houska from 2009 to 2014. “We believe these past relationships will allow us to wake up and move forward faster,” Flames general manager Craig Conroy said in a statement. “While Dan leads our defense, he also provides an all-around experience having managed the power play in Nashville for the past four years. The focus is on keeping the puck out of the net, but Dan’s style generates an offensive slant from behind.”
A veteran of 807 NHL games, Savard completed his second season as head coach of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires. The 45-year-old, who last played for the Boston Bruins in the 2010-11 season, spent the 2019-20 season as an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues.
Savard led Windsor to the OHL Finals in 2022.
The Ottawa native also played 221 games with the Flames, scoring 60 goals and 94 assists.
“I know how competitive Mark can be when we’ve played together for three seasons here in Calgary,” Conroy said. “Savy has a great attacking spirit that will help us strengthen and lead our attacking game. His style is very recognizable as a player and he sees the game the same way he sees a coach.”
Kyle McClain will return to the Flames as an assistant coach while point guard Jason LaBarbera and video coach Jimmy Pringle will return.
