Music: {allcanada} CLOUTIER FOLLOWS HARTLEY TO FLAMES COACHING STAFF

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

{allcanada} CLOUTIER FOLLOWS HARTLEY TO FLAMES COACHING STAFF

CALGARY -- Jacques Cloutier has joined the Calgary Flames coaching staff as Bob Hartley's assistant.

The former goaltender for the Quebec Nordiques was Hartley's assistant last season with the Zurich Lions of the Swiss elite league.

Cloutier spent 12 seasons as an assistant coach of the Colorado Avalanche. He won a Stanley Cup in 1996 and again in 2001 when he was Hartley's assistant there.

"We have been coaching partners for many years, beginning in Cornwall immediately after his playing days, another five years in Colorado and most recently in Zurich," Hartley said in a statement Tuesday. "He has a tremendous talent for working with professionals, from young players to veterans."

The 52-year-old from Rouyn-Noranda, Que., was drafted in the third round by the Buffalo Sabres in 1979. He played 147 career NHL games for Quebec, Buffalo and the Chicago Blackhawks.

He became an assistant coach for Quebec's AHL affiliate in Cornwall, as well as a part-time goaltending coach for the Nordiques upon retirement. Cloutier moved with the Nordiques to Colorado in 1995 to be a goaltending coach for the Avs and was promoted to assistant during the 1995-96 season.