Quote:
Originally Posted by Erick Estrada
His brand of hockey works well in the playoffs because the whistles get put away and they are already well versed at the grind required to win a cup but it makes for an trying 82 game regular season. It's why his cup winning Kings teams were only 8th seeds. I just don't know if the Flames have the horses to grind things out for a full season like those Kings teams did and even at that the Kings eventually broke.
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That's not really a fair assessment. Sutter coached 5 seasons as the only coach in LA and they had: 101*, 100, 95, 102, and 86 points. You're probably right that the Flames do not resemble those Kings lineups, but there isn't much evidence in my opinion that Sutter can only coach those types of teams.
*48 game season in 2012-13 101 is pro-rated.
In his most successful regular season with the Flames 2005-06 (also, surprisingly, the best winning percentage he ever had as a coach since his rookie coaching season with the Blackhawks), the top forwards were: Iginla, Langkow, Huselius, Amonte, Kobasew, and Reinprecht. That's a pretty different group from: Kopitar, Carter, Williams, Richards, King, and Toffoli (or Brown).
This is all to say that I am still very happy that they hired Sutter and I think he'll right the ship. He doesn't seem to be any under illusion that this roster is good enough and I expect significant changes in personnel to go with a more consistent and effective playstyle.