3 days ago
Calgary Flames promote Trent Cull to full-time assistant, announce Brad Larsen will return
The Calgary Flames have rewarded Trent Cull with a permanent promotion, while Brad Larsen is ready to return and Dan Lambert has been released from his contract and will be looking for work elsewhere.
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The Flames announced those updates on Friday afternoon, essentially finalizing their coaching staff for the 2025-26 campaign.
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Cull was previously the skipper for the AHL's Wranglers, but he spent the second half of this season on the big-league bench after Larsen was granted a leave of absence for family reasons.
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The 51-year-old Cull made such a positive impact — on the penalty-kill units, in particular — that he's now been named a full-time assistant on Ryan Huska's crew.
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The Flames are also thrilled to welcome back Larsen, a valuable sounding board for Huska since he has previous experience as both a player and a head coach at the highest level. Larsen, now 47, was hired as an assistant last June. He has been away from the organization since early December.
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Lambert, who had one year remaining on his contract in Calgary, is the odd man out. He was responsible for the defence in 2024-25.
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'Facing a challenging situation last season, Trent stepped in and was very impressive managing his assignments with our NHL club,' said Flames general manager Craig Conroy in Friday's announcement. 'We thank Dan for his contributions to the organization during the past two seasons and wish him every success with his future in the game.'
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Cull's promotion means the Wranglers will be searching for a new shot-caller. With the stockpile of exciting prospects who will be developing next season at the AHL level, that's considered a very important post.
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