Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
I went Darryl Sutter.
Bob Johnson was my assumption coming in, but then the team's that Johnson coached when on to win a cup without him. He was huge in building up the team, getting them able to beat Edmonton, and he's my favourite coach.
But best coach? Darryl Sutter took a lunch bucket team to the Stanley Cup Final. The second he removed himself form behind the bench the team lost their drive. He was the face of the franchise.
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To be fair, the 1988/89 roster >>> The 1986/87 roster (Badger's last season in Calgary).
Subtract: Paul Reinhart, Carey Wilson, Mike Bullard, John Tonelli, Reggie Lemelin
Add: Joe Nieuwendyk (HOF), Doug Gilmour (HOF), Gary Roberts, Jiri Hrdina, Mark Hunter, Rob Ramage, Rick Wamsley, Theo Fleury.
Those are some pretty big upgrades.
As for Badger versus Darryl -- both had incredible Cinderella runs to the Finals. Both extracted every ounce of talent out of their team and motivated them to seemingly do the impossible. I'd give the slight edge to Badger, who managed to conquer the Oilers at the height of their dynasty.
Not entirely relevant, but Badger also went on to win a Cup with (a stacked) Pittsburgh team as well.