"We want to grow our presence in Europe,'' said Flames General Manager Brad Treliving. "It's an area we want to expand. Hakan has a great eye for talent, he's familiar with Europe and he's a worker. This isn't just because Hakan was a great Flame. He's so well connected over there. Hakan Loob walks into a room and he's well known and well respected."

Loob, a native of Visby, Sweden has a rich history with the Flames organization as a player after being drafted in the ninth-round of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. Loob skated in 450 games for the Flames scoring 193 goals and 236 assists for 429 points from 1983 to 1989. Loob was a member of the 1989 Stanley Cup Champion team where he recorded eight goals and nine assists in those playoffs - most notably his assist on Lanny McDonald's series clinching goal against the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final.

Hakan Loob is considered one of the greatest European hockey players of all time and was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Swedish Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012.

After his NHL playing days were over, Loob returned to Sweden and was named the General Manager of Farjestads BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) in 1996. He served in this role for 11 seasons, during which the team reached the final of the SHL playoffs eight times and won four championships. Loob was then promoted to team president in 2008. In January of 2017, Loob retired as the team president.

Loob's playing career accomplishments include being named to the NHL All-Rookie team as a member of the Flames in 1984, winning a Gold Medal twice at the World Championships in 1987 and 1991 as a member of Team Sweden, was named to the NHL First All-Star team in 1988, a Stanley Cup Champion in 1989, and an Olympic Gold Medal in 1994 again with Team Sweden.