Hartley says Flames close to contention

Bob Hartley has returned to the NHL as coach of the Calgary Flames. He succeeds Brent Sutter, who left the team in April after three seasons.

Hartley coached the Colorado Avalanche for five seasons and won a Stanley Cup with them in 2001. He joined the Flames on Thursday after a championship season with the ZSC Lions in Switzerland. Hartley also spent parts of five seasons as the Atlanta Thrashers coach.

He agreed to a three-year deal with Calgary. The Flames had to secure his release from the Lions because he had a year remaining on a two-year contract. Hartley said he had been in talks with the Montreal Canadiens about their coaching vacancy but informed them Thursday that he would join the Flames.

“I am back in the NHL, but I am in a great Canadian market in a very proud community, very supportive community of their hockey club,” Hartley said.

Calgary narrowly missed the playoffs under Sutter for three years in a row. The Flames finished ninth in the Western Conference this season with a 3729-16 record.

“One of the teams in the Stanley Cup finals, the L.A. Kings, just finished five points ahead of the Calgary Flames,” Hartley said. “It’s just to show you the difference between being a Stanley Cup winner and a non-playoff team is very, very slim.”

Building a rivalry

In the previous two rounds, the New Jersey Devils took on and took out their two biggest rivals: the Philadelphia Flyers in five games and the hated New York Rangers in six.

Both Atlantic Division rivals play relatively close in distance to New Jersey and tend to overshadow the Devils, even though the Devils have had much more success in recent years than either of those clubs.

There is no little-brother syndrome facing the Devils in this round like the one they dealt with in the conference semifinals and finals, so forgive New Jersey if it takes time to develop animosity toward the Kings.

That could change as early as Saturday’s Game 2.

“I think so,” New Jersey forward Adam Henrique said Thursday. “Obviously, they’re a team that we haven’t seen very much over the year. There’s not that big rivalry like the Rangers or Philadelphia.

“It’s the Stanley Cup finals. I’m sure it will ramp up. Maybe not the chippiness, but just the physical play all around. I think it was there (Wednesday) for the most part. I’m sure that will continue throughout the series.”