Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Flames fire Geoff Ward, hire Darryl Sutter, signs 3 year deal

united · 03-05-2021, 02:03 AM

Wow this is a complete stunner and wonderful news.

D. Sutter is not only one of the best defensive coaches of all time but a master motivator and man-manager as well, and one who has shown an ability to compete through multiple eras and styles of play.

Like any coaching change, expect a short burst of (adrenaline-induced?) improvement followed by a period of growing pains, but in the long-term the Flames just went from a bottom two or three coach in the NHL to top two or three, for my money, which is massive. And while I firmly believe the impacts of coaching are substantially over-rated by the media and casual fan, getting a bona fide elite coach is something every organization should strive for and I was dismayed the Flames didn't pounce on another who fell into their lap in Bruce Boudreau. Just a terrific move by what was likely ownership to pull the trigger on this.

Sutter is very demanding of his centremen and views them as the foundation of a team and each line, which is a departure from the last few coaches who leaned toward defencemen being the foundation. Interestingly, Treliving has said many times he believes defencemen are the most important players on a hockey team which I completely disagree with, as does Sutter.

I am very excited to see how Sutter utilizes our centremen and the impact he has on them. One thing Sutter does not accept is offence-only centremen - every centre must be at least somewhat responsible all over the rink. Typically, he likes having one centremen who is capable in any matchup, one centremen who is oustanding defensively and is fully trusted and buried in that role, one centreman who is a bit more offensively-focused but again must not cheat for offence, and a fourth centreman who seldom plays.

Kopitar - will he go with Lindholm or try to mold Monahan?
Stoll - this is obviously Backlund.
Carter/Richards - one of Lindholm or Monahan
Ryan - Not the typical Sutter #4 C but also better than any #4 he's ever had - wonder how much usage he gets?

I have a feeling Sutter is going to absolutely love Lindholm's game right off the start, but he has also voiced his admiration for Monahan before as well and that has me really excited. Here's why:

Monahan, though he has made progress over the past two seasons since being a legitimate candidate for the worst defensive centre in the league in 2018-19, is still a liability defensively and no coach has been able to get him to fully buy-in to a centre's responsibility in the defensive zone. The thing is he has a terrific hockey IQ so it has never been an issue of ability, it has been an issue of effort and commitment. If anyone can get Monahan to buy-in defensively and discontinue cheating (via coasting in the D-zone) for offence, it's Sutter. And if Monahan becomes even average defensively, the Flames are a completely different team. Now imagine a situation where Monahan becomes better-than-average defensively through equal effort at both ends of the rink? I am drooling. His IQ and anticipation are supreme and he uses both to great effect in the opponent's end, which, combined with his unique but deadly release I have been praising since his rookie season makes for a deadly offensive combination. Combine that brain with a committed effort defensively and he can reach that marquee two-way player level still. Let's see!

Another thing to watch is Sutter isn't afraid to jettison centres to wing duty if they aren't pulling their weight down the middle in all areas of the ice. Something to keep an eye on - does Lindholm go back to the right given our utter lack of depth there? Or maybe Sutter bumps Monahan over after trialing him down the middle and not seeing what he wants, just as the Flyers have done with Giroux and Lightning with Stamkos who also had better two-way centres at their disposal.

Micah McCurdy, of HockeyViz, has a model that estimates the impact of coaching on a team's style of play, adjusted for talent. Here are how the Treliving-era coaches rate, minus Ward as he hadn't reached the minimum sample size. For those who haven't seen these before, the higher the offensive number the better, and the lower the defensive number the better. Anything above 1.5% in either direction is elite and Sutter's defensive impact is twice that while also being slightly above average offensively. Incredible.

Sutter

Spoiler!

Peters

Spoiler!

Gulutzan

Spoiler!

Hartley

Spoiler!

03-05-2021, 02:03 AM	#544
united #1 Goaltender Join Date: Mar 2007 Exp:	Wow this is a complete stunner and wonderful news. D. Sutter is not only one of the best defensive coaches of all time but a master motivator and man-manager as well, and one who has shown an ability to compete through multiple eras and styles of play. Like any coaching change, expect a short burst of (adrenaline-induced?) improvement followed by a period of growing pains, but in the long-term the Flames just went from a bottom two or three coach in the NHL to top two or three, for my money, which is massive. And while I firmly believe the impacts of coaching are substantially over-rated by the media and casual fan, getting a bona fide elite coach is something every organization should strive for and I was dismayed the Flames didn't pounce on another who fell into their lap in Bruce Boudreau. Just a terrific move by what was likely ownership to pull the trigger on this. Sutter is very demanding of his centremen and views them as the foundation of a team and each line, which is a departure from the last few coaches who leaned toward defencemen being the foundation. Interestingly, Treliving has said many times he believes defencemen are the most important players on a hockey team which I completely disagree with, as does Sutter. I am very excited to see how Sutter utilizes our centremen and the impact he has on them. One thing Sutter does not accept is offence-only centremen - every centre must be at least somewhat responsible all over the rink. Typically, he likes having one centremen who is capable in any matchup, one centremen who is oustanding defensively and is fully trusted and buried in that role, one centreman who is a bit more offensively-focused but again must not cheat for offence, and a fourth centreman who seldom plays. Kopitar - will he go with Lindholm or try to mold Monahan? Stoll - this is obviously Backlund. Carter/Richards - one of Lindholm or Monahan Ryan - Not the typical Sutter #4 C but also better than any #4 he's ever had - wonder how much usage he gets? I have a feeling Sutter is going to absolutely love Lindholm's game right off the start, but he has also voiced his admiration for Monahan before as well and that has me really excited. Here's why: Monahan, though he has made progress over the past two seasons since being a legitimate candidate for the worst defensive centre in the league in 2018-19, is still a liability defensively and no coach has been able to get him to fully buy-in to a centre's responsibility in the defensive zone. The thing is he has a terrific hockey IQ so it has never been an issue of ability, it has been an issue of effort and commitment. If anyone can get Monahan to buy-in defensively and discontinue cheating (via coasting in the D-zone) for offence, it's Sutter. And if Monahan becomes even average defensively, the Flames are a completely different team. Now imagine a situation where Monahan becomes better-than-average defensively through equal effort at both ends of the rink? I am drooling. His IQ and anticipation are supreme and he uses both to great effect in the opponent's end, which, combined with his unique but deadly release I have been praising since his rookie season makes for a deadly offensive combination. Combine that brain with a committed effort defensively and he can reach that marquee two-way player level still. Let's see! Another thing to watch is Sutter isn't afraid to jettison centres to wing duty if they aren't pulling their weight down the middle in all areas of the ice. Something to keep an eye on - does Lindholm go back to the right given our utter lack of depth there? Or maybe Sutter bumps Monahan over after trialing him down the middle and not seeing what he wants, just as the Flyers have done with Giroux and Lightning with Stamkos who also had better two-way centres at their disposal. Micah McCurdy, of HockeyViz, has a model that estimates the impact of coaching on a team's style of play, adjusted for talent. Here are how the Treliving-era coaches rate, minus Ward as he hadn't reached the minimum sample size. For those who haven't seen these before, the higher the offensive number the better, and the lower the defensive number the better. Anything above 1.5% in either direction is elite and Sutter's defensive impact is twice that while also being slightly above average offensively. Incredible. Sutter Spoiler! Peters Spoiler! Gulutzan Spoiler! Hartley Spoiler! __________________ "I think the eye test is still good, but analytics can sure give you confirmation: what you see...is that what you really believe?" Scotty Bowman, 0 NHL games played Last edited by united; 03-05-2021 at 02:09 AM.