[Savvy27]

"Dean and Darryl were great for the organization and great for me as a player," Doughty told Matt Larkin of The Hockey News. "I love them so much. They're awesome. At the same time, it was necessary to make a change, I'm not saying that Dean should have been gone, but we needed a coaching change, and we made great decisions there."

"I shouldn't say Darryl (Sutter) didn’t like it, but he definitely would have liked me to be more serious in certain situations," Doughty said. "But I just can't play the game that way. I like that I have fun playing the game ..."

Even though a player of Doughty's caliber might have more leeway with coaches than other players, Sutter wasn't always an easy person with whom to communicate.

"Darryl's an awesome coach, and I absolutely love him," Doughty said. "He's awesome for me. He taught me a lot of things as well. But if there is a problem with the team, or if you had a problem with Darryl, you'd be intimidated to go knock on his door and say, 'Hey Darryl, I don't like this or I don't like that.'"

https://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/1369233

Interviewed on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, the one-time Carolina Hurricanes’ captain Justin Williams, who also played during his career on the two Los Angeles Kings teams that Sutter coached to Stanley Cup victories, said the coach had an “in your face style” and was “condescending to players.”

He also had a towering temper that erupted regularly, but perhaps in no more spectacular fashion than one time during a game against the Minnesota Wild. As Williams told the tale, after the Kings had put in a “so-so period,” Sutter gathered his assistant coaches during the intermission into a small room adjacent to the King’s dressing room. Suddenly the sound of him throwing aluminum chairs against a bathroom stall erupted. Terrified coaches started fleeing into the main dressing room seeking refuge from his rage.

https://thehockeywriters.com/flames-...ret-potential/

“Darryl has a direct way of doing business,” said Hitchcock. “I saw how he went about business (in Los Angeles). I think he was misinterpreted at times. I had a real respect for the way he coached. His teams’ attention to detail was impeccable and their ability to sacrifice was top of the charts. I think the players still embrace that as long as you know what the end game is.”

“That’s what I wish people could understand. When you’re demanding of players and you’re pushing them, it’s because you believe in them,” said Hitchcock.

“I admire that quality. You have to coach at times with earmuffs on. To get a player to play at that level, it’s not easy. Sometimes to get to where you want to go, there’s conflict and they’re not happy with you and you’re not happy with them. But if you can get through it, it’s rewarding.”

https://torontosun.com/sports/traiko...d-hockey-coach

The Hitchcock quotes are really interesting and I think reflect a lot of the pro-Sutter posts on this site. The Flames knew what they were getting into when they went with Sutter and like Hitchcock says, if they get through to the other side, the players will get to enjoy some success.

On the other hand, you have some pretty successful players in Williams and Doughty who acknowledge that there is a limit to what is acceptable and there are ways that Sutter's approach falls short.