There has been a lot of discourse surrounding Calgary Flames head coach, Darryl Sutter. From his flippant remarks about players to favoring unproductive veterans, Flames have had enough. Multiple things can be true: Darryl Sutter is probably the greatest NHL coach and his stubborn ways force him out of jobs.
Darryl Sutter has his system. It’s about defense and the quantity of shots over quality. We saw how he transformed Johnny Gaudreau into a 200-foot player. His system elevated Erik Gudbranson to a player that walked and made $4m in free agency.
Some players don’t have what it takes to carry that skill over to their new team. Again, look at Erik Gudbranson. The structure of Sutter’s system keeps them and their play stable.
It is not secret that the Calgary Flames ( 32-25-15) have underperformed this year. They were projected to be at the top of the Pacific division or at least second behind Edmonton. They are currently 5 points outside of a Wild Card spot, behind Winnipeg and Seattle.
Let’s take it back to the man in charge, Darryl Sutter. He’s always been someone that tells it how it is ( granted his perspective may not be reality ) and does what he can to light a fire under his team.
Early in the season, Sutter made a comment about newly acquired forward, Jonathan Huberdeau.
Apparently, Huberdeau wasn’t happy about this. He was getting worked on by the medical team. A comment like that isn’t going to sit well with anyone but especially your new star player, not even two weeks into the season.
It’s not a secret that Sutter doesn’t like the young guys. If they’re under 6’2? Forget it. He is not one to give them a shot at the NHL even if they’ve excelled in the AHL.
Matthew Phillips has been disrespected his entire tenure. The Matthew Phillips Experiment did not bode well for the 24-year-old as Sutter only gave him 2 games to find his rhythm in the NHL.
Do we need to rehash the Jakob Pelletier comment?
This is just a weird comment to make. His reputation proceeds him and it doesn’t matter if he congratulated Pelletier beforehand. The fans and media are only seeing what you’re putting forward in your media availability.
The Flames were not at a point in the season where they could be making light-hearted jokes with the media. If it were last season, yes. This year it doesn’t feel entirely appropriate.
His guys. Darryl Sutter absolutely has his guys. Tyler Toffoli, Milan Lucic and Trevor Lewis are all players he has coached and had success with before. There is an oath or a blood bond between them. No one will ever say a bad word about the other. They are somehow immune from negative critiques that other teammates are subjected to.
Long story short, Sutter has coached his way to two Stanley Cup Championships. Not everyone is capable of coaching under that pressure. Sutter doesn’t collapse when it matters most.
Players thrive under Darryl. He is Walter Matthau in Bad News Bears.
There’s nothing wrong with players admitting that he has done his job as a coach. It is his job to get the players to reach their full potential. We watch that night after night with Toffoli.
I don’t think you can ever expect a player to go on the record and say something vicious about a current coach. That’s going to create a bigger rift in the room. S
Players aren’t online checking out what Flames fans have to say. Unless you are Milan Lucic, of course. Both perceptions can be skewed.
There is obviously something to say about the LA Kings locking him out of the locker room and Alan Walsh’s tweets.
Regardless, two things can be very true.
Darryl Sutter is a brilliant hockey mind but you know when it’s time to go well before he does. Being in Murray Edwards’ back pocket also provides job security. He can say and do what he wants whenever he wants.
Jessica Belmosto 
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