[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by direwolf

I don't remember Sutter ever proclaiming they were underdogs. If he did, then feel free to post a link. He's talked several times about how tough it is to win in the playoffs and that you have to elevate your game to another level, and he would be absolutely correct. He's just being realistic. Dude has won 2 Cups as a head coach (and been a Cup finalist) for a reason. I'd say he knows how to properly motivate a team. Besides, what's the alternative? Telling them that they're the greatest team in the world and that they're gonna walk all over Dallas in 4 straight just because they had an awesome regular season? Gimme a break.

These last two losses have nothing to do with coaching. This is 100% on the players for simply not executing and not getting into those dirty areas and doing what it takes to win a series. On paper this is an excellent, deep team with several players who have gone on long playoff runs and won Cups in the past. Yet in these last two games they don't seem to have the mental fortitude to overcome adversity. I don't know what the answer is, but Sutter's coaching style is not the problem.

I don't know if he said it recently to media but this is from a month ago:

“You’re going to be an underdog, doesn’t matter. That’s a fact,” Sutter said. “Because you haven’t been a playoff team. As an organization, you’ve had zero success for a long time. So you’re going to be an underdog, whoever you play.”

https://calgarysun.com/sports/hockey...n-playoff-talk