[Cortez]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

I agree that it's not the most entertaining style, and Sutter definitely had player usage issues, but with elite goaltending, those 2-3 losses become 2-1 leads that become 3-1 or 4-1 wins with an empty-netter. those games that went to OT at 3-3 become 3-2 wins.

And I think individuals on the blueline is a huge factor in that as well. When I think of guys who really seemed to play their best hockey under Sutter, I think of:

Jordan Leopold (2004)
Slava Voynov (2012-14)
Drew Doughty (2012-14)
Oliver Kylington (2022)
Nikita Zadorov and Troy Stecher (2023)

Not to say other guys haven't had good seasons under him (stay at home guys like Tanev, Weegar, Regehr, Andersson and rookie Phaneuf too) but to really drive the point home, the guys on the upper list really to me prove how important it is for the defensemen to be part of the rush as more than just stationary outlet passers. This year, a lot of the problem was that guys like Gilbert, or the Weegar-Tanev pair, or the Hanifin-Andersson pair, really just didn't play with the tempo you need from your back-end. They didn't play with pace. And I think that makes the system look worse.

Good, thoughtful post