Flames name Hartley head coach

The Calgary Flames have hired Bob Hartley as their new head coach, the team announced on Thursday.

Hartley, who also coached the Atlanta Thrashers and Colorado Avalanche, spent the past season in Switzerland coaching Zurich. He returns to the NHL for the first time since being fired by the Thrashers after an 0-6-0 start in 2007.

"Bob Hartley is a winner," Flames general manager Jay Feaster said in a statement. "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. 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."