Former Flame fine fit
Gelinas ecstatic in return to Calgary as assistant coach
Standing at the back of the room is Craig Conroy, wearing whiskers and a fresh gash under his eye. At the podium, there’s Martin Gelinas, fit as a fiddle and still at his playing weight.
If you squint a little, the good ol’ days of the Calgary Flames don’t seem that far away.
But if the passage of time has changed only slightly the gametime appearances of the city’s former first-liners, it has overhauled their career paths.
Conroy, a dandy two-way centre once upon a time, works upstairs now, the suit-wearing assistant of general manager Jay Feaster.
And Gelinas, who memorably buried three (or four) seriesclinching goals during the 2004 National Hockey League playoffs, has swapped heroic flair for a track suit.
That latest development — Gelinas being added as an assistant to Bob Hartley’s revamped coaching staff — became official Thursday morning.
By afternoon, Gelinas, ever popular, was beaming at a throng of reporters.
“It’s kind of overwhelming to be here,” said the 42-year-old. “It’s a good day. A good day for myself, my family. Calgary’s home for me . . . since I left (the Flames) after the 2004 run, it’s been a dream of mine to come back and work for this organization.”
For the past three seasons, Gelinas served as the Nashville Predators’ director of player development.
“When this came about, and I had this opportunity,” he said of returning to the Flames fold, “it was a tough decision because I’m leaving a franchise where I was treated very well. (Nashville general manager) David Poile is a great man and treated me like family. But it was an opportunity that Jay Feaster and Craig Conroy put in front of me, with Bob Hartley, that I just couldn’t pass. I’m just grateful and thankful to be here. “It’s nice to be back.” Under Hartley, Gelinas joins Jacques Cloutier for a French connection of coaches in Calgary.
Quipped Gelinas: “Montreal must be jealous right now.”
Hartley and Cloutier go way back.
So, too, do Cloutier and Gelinas — teammates with the 1993-94 Quebec Nordiques. (“He was my driver, actually,” said Gelinas. “And Jocelyn Thibault, we were all living in the same neighbourhood. We used to drive together.”)
But Gelinas, here, is the new kid on the bench.
Conroy likens the addition of the Shawinigan, Que., native to Sven Baertschi’s mid-season arrival last winter.
The effervescent teen, remember, woke up the team — and the city — with his energy. Gelinas is every bit as upbeat. “A positive attitude,” said Feaster. “Bob Hartley’s going to be very demanding on our team and on our players. The expectations will be high. But, at the same time, there’s a way to do that without it being a negative environment. And that’s why he wants someone who comes in here every day thrilled to be walking into the office, thrilled to be walking into that locker-room. And that’s why he was so impressed with Marty.”
The seventh overall pick in 1988 — sandwiched between Scott Pearson and Jeremy Roenick — Gelinas won the 1990 Stanley Cup as a rookie, with Edmonton. He went to the NHL’S final three other times — 1994 with Vancouver, 2002 with Carolina, and, of course, here.
In all, the speedy left-winger recorded 660 points in 1,273 dates.
That success doesn’t appear to be waning.
He is credited with fast-tracking the Preds’ youth movement.
And during a brief mid-season internship behind the Milwaukee Admirals bench — head coach Kirk Muller had been hired by the Carolina Hurricanes — Gelinas won all four of his games.
“You know what? You realize, ‘Wow, this is probably the closest feeling to being a player. You can make a difference right away,’ “said Gelinas. “So I kind of got the bug there.” All he needed was a chance. It didn’t take long. And it didn’t take long for Hartley and Gelinas, who knew each other only in passing, to take the full measure of each other.
One 90-minute sit-down, Tuesday at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Hartley came away convinced that Gelinas was his man.
And Gelinas, immediately, had insight into why coach Bob is a winner.
“I had a good vibe,” said Gelinas. “We went over the way he thinks, the way he runs practice. He’s a very detail (-oriented) coach. Hands-on. He get a feel for his players. He cares about his players. He wants to know his players, inside out, on the ice and off the ice. To me, that’s part of the success.”
Gelinas, in his new gig, is wasting no time. Minutes after signing a threeyear contract, he was arranging for a special-teams highlight package.
But Gelinas knows his importance goes well beyond Xs and Os.
“The connection,” he said. “You know what? I got no ego. I’ve played the game for a long time. I can’t say it was all up — it was a roller-coaster. And for those young guys coming up, there’ll be some ups and downs.
“I’ve been there. I can communicate.”