Quote:
Originally Posted by Muta
Yeah this is my gripe with Sutter's system too. I'm not sure 'dump and chase' is really an effective strategy with this roster, given that that style requires speed (we don't have), and strength on the boards (far from leaders in this area). Wonder if Sutter has a gameplan to adjust? I'd wager to say he doesn't...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SeanCharles
Nobody wants to talk about this though because they don’t want to believe it cause Sutter is an “elite coach.”
This is the most hopeless I’ve felt about this team in a long time. Probably the last time was when B. Sutter was the head coach cause the hockey wasn’t even enjoyable to watch.
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This was my warning to those who wanted Sutter so badly. His style is not a fit to the talent. When you make decisions of this magnitude - hiring a transformational manager - you have to look at the entirety of the organization and understand if the individual is a good fit with the assets you have to work with, or if you are willing to commit to a complete and total tear down of things. The investment in something like this needs to be understood as it goes well beyond the scope of just the big team. This is an organizational change and it should be driven by the direction the game is going, not by sentimentality and what happened in the past. Unfortunately I think sentimentality and loyalty to the last coach who had any semblance of success was the driver for the power base within ownership.
The most difficult thing for the fans to understand is the overall change that will have to take place throughout the organization. It isn't just trading Gaudreau or Monahan and thinking we're good to go, this hiring affects the entire organization because the needs change with the style the coach puts into play. Sutter's style is very much "own the wall" and "grind out goals." This leads to two significant problems for the Flames. First, Sutter's style relies on size and beef to achieve success. People don't appreciate the Stanley Cup teams in L.A. were big and had plenty of beef. The Flames have too many small players to rely on this style of game. Worst, and this is the second part of the problem, the minors best players are all small and rely on speed and skill. The big guys we do have are all slow and lacking that NHL talent the team needs. So with bringing in Sutter and making a three year commitment to him, the Flames have pretty much committed to making change to suit the coach's needs. This means getting bigger, not smaller. That is going to require an incredible turnover in ranks. It also means the team is going to move in a direction counter to the rest of the league. This is the part that concerns me the most as it could mean a change in philosophy and a decade or more to rebuild this team, a rebuild that may not even be aligned with the game the NHL is playing. This could be the decision that we will be taking about for the next two or three decades (those of us who will still be on this mortal coil anyways).