Bob Hartley has been hired as the new head coach of the Calgary Flames, the team announced on Thursday.

“Bob Hartley is a winner. Bob has won at every level he has coached, from the QMJHL to the AHL to the NHL to Switzerland, and we are confident he is going to continue his winning ways in Calgary,” Flames General Manager Jay Feaster said in a statement. “He is a tireless worker, an outstanding motivator, a great bench boss and game strategist, and a teacher at heart. Moreover, he is a great person as well.”

The former Atlanta Thrashers and Colorado Avalanche bench boss coached in Switzerland with Zurich this past season. Hartley last coached in the NHL in the fall of 2007 after being fired early that season by the Thrashers following an 0-6-0 start.

Hartley has a long-standing relationship with Feaster dating back to their days in Hershey of the AHL, Colorado’s farm team at the time.

“It’s great to return to the league in a city, a community and an organization that has such an outstanding reputation and passion for hockey and success,” Hartley said in the statement released by the team.

The Flames parted ways with Brent Sutter at the end of the season, his contract having expired.


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