Brent Sutter Interview on FAN960

[FlamesAddiction]

I think it's funny how perceptions changed. When Brent Sutter took over as coach, the scuttlebutt among the media and many fans was that the Flames would contend for the division and would be top seeded playoff team (supposedly Keenan was holding back our uber-talented team).

[Biyaaaah]

Every Flame underperformed when Brent was the coach here. His system was awful, the quality of play was hard to bear and amongst the most boring in the league.

His use of players made little to no sense. Guys like Jokinen seemed to get unlimited minutes no matter how awful they played while the younger players couldn't buy additional ice time regardless of their performance. The team had no identity and was a complete disaster while he was here.

His work with the Junior team the last few years has been equally pathetic. It's no wonder this guy hasn't attracted any NHL attention recently.

I refuse to give any credit for the 2005-2007 juniors. Those teams were so talented they could have one with a monkey behind the bench(I guess the actually did) and probably would have been even more dominant without the monkey at all.

Anyways... love what Hartley has done with the team. I like the new management structure, and direction the team seems to be headed in. For the first time in ages we seem to have a well thought out plan for building a strong franchise which we severely lacked while King was the president. Very nice to see that he will no longer be meddling with the team. Really quite shocking that he's still even part of the organization considering what a disaster the team has been under his watch since winning the cup.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

Brent Sutter got a raw deal. Bent inherited a deeply entitled group of veterans led by Iginla.

True, but I don't think he would have been good with any other group either (or that our group would have been good with any other coach).

So really it doesn't matter much.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

Brent Sutter got a raw deal. Bent inherited a deeply entitled group of veterans led by Iginla. If Iginla wasnt flat out insubordinate he still didn't bring the players into Brents system.

What a mess those last three years were. It's what happens when you let a player get bigger than the team.

There's a reason Brent isn't coaching in the NHL right now (despite a load of firings these last two seasons) and why he won't be any time soon.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Saying Brett Sutter got a raw deal is an easy way to brush aside what a brutal coach he was here. The guy hasn't even gotten a sniff at an NHL job since, I wonder why that is.

More then enough blame to go around during those years, plenty falls on the players and the leadership group there and plenty falls on the coaching staff and their leadership. The guy had no idea what to do with Jay Bouwmeester, then saddled him with Chris Butler.

He's back in junior where he thrives.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by dino7c

4 in 11 years

Those are just 4 I picked off the top of my head, those aren't the only examples. There were like 8+ impact players taken outside of the top 10 in 2003 alone. I'm sure if I went back and looked at every draft I could find more examples.

edit: Here are a few names that caught my eye, all taken between 9th and 60th overall in the last 10 years (didn't want to look past the end of the 2nd round).

Anze Kopitar, Claude Giroux, James Neal, Paul Stastny, PK Subban, Logan Couture, Erik Karlsson, Tom Erixon (just kidding), Ryan O'Reilly, Tyler Toffoli, Dougie Hamilton, Mikael Granlund.

Maybe not all of them are on the same level as your average top 3 pick, but it's still very possible to find good to elite talent later in the draft. Just have to have good scouts.

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

Brent Sutter got a raw deal. Bent inherited a deeply entitled group of veterans led by Iginla. If Iginla wasnt flat out insubordinate he still didn't bring the players into Brents system.

What a mess those last three years were. It's what happens when you let a player get bigger than the team.

Totally disagree. Brent Sutter inherited a perennial playoff team with star players that still had great years left in them, and ran that team into the ground. Terrible coach. Pinning it on Iginla is laughable. Brent was terrible at using players to their strengths and seemingly stripped the team of any sense of joy of playing the game. His system was ineffective and gave no room for players to actually play the game creatively. He almost killed Bouwmeester's career. The list goes on.

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by Igottago

Totally disagree. Brent Sutter inherited a perennial playoff team with star players that still had great years left in them, and ran that team into the ground. Terrible coach. Pinning it on Iginla is laughable. Brent was terrible at using players to their strengths and seemingly stripped the team of any sense of joy of playing the game. His system was ineffective and gave no room for players to actually play the game creatively. He almost killed Bouwmeester's career. The list goes on.

Joyless is a great description

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by Locke

Fair enough.

Use the animated one. Loophole!!

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Cleveland Steam Whistle

Spinning our wheels trying to make it work was the problem. If they'd moved Iggy and Co back then, we'd likely have the same (or similar) prospect quality we have now, plus some young players coming into their prime that we got back in those trades. We'd be deeper for the future and much closer to competing today than we are now.

Yep. The Flames major assets were depreciating. And moving them was the best way to accelerate the acquisition of young talent. Riding it out just kicked the problem down the road and made it worse. The only positive to come out of that period is that Ken King is now kept far away from any kind of authority over hockey matters.

Originally Posted by drewtastic

I had rarely seen a player lead his team like Iginla did in 2004.

That was all on-ice play. Iginla was surrounded by guys like Gelinas, Warrener, and Ference, who led off the ice and fostered great chemistry. Not to mention Darryl Sutter. But once Iginla became a demi-god in Calgary, and once those other guys retired or moved on, nobody else could step up and assume a leadership role on the team for fear or stepping on Iginla's toes. Whatever chemistry that team had was dead by the time of the Playfair mutiny.

[T@T]

Brent Sutter belongs back in junior..oh wait.

I would rather Brian personally, He knows when and who to butt heads with unlike Brent. I'm actually a little shocked he's been out of the loop this long.

[Funkhouser]

Originally Posted by Table 5

I once test-drove, and almost bought, Jarome Iginla's old car (had no idea it was his I looked through the records).

I once bought Jon Voight's car, it had his pencil in the glove box.

[EM11]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Playfair mutiny.

Do you have a brief synopsis of what happened here?

My only inside connection to the Flames simply told me that by 2006 and 2007 the team was extremely divided and clique-y. The high priced vets were untouchable and the attitude dominated everything surrounding the team, and by and large it revolved around Iginla. For what it's worth, it seems to line up with the on-ince product.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by EM11

Do you have a brief synopsis of what happened here?

My only inside connection to the Flames simply told me that by 2006 and 2007 the team was extremely divided and clique-y. The high priced vets were untouchable and the attitude dominated everything surrounding the team, and by and large it revolved around Iginla. For what it's worth, it seems to line up with the on-ince product.

I can't speak to anything off-ice, but it was pretty clear to me in the Detroit series that the Flames quit on their coach. Threw him under the bus and ran around freelancing. And either Iginla was part of the mutiny, or he wasn't able to stop it. Either way, it doesn't speak to great leadership, or to a strong team culture.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

The year that Brent Sutter came in as coach, Darryl Sutter actually wanted to coach but was denied by higher-ups. I think Darryl could have at least made that team into one that won a round or two as coach.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

The year that Brent Sutter came in as coach, Darryl Sutter actually wanted to coach but was denied by higher-ups. I think Darryl could have at least made that team into one that won a round or two as coach.

Hmmm, I heard a little different story as in the "higher ups" wanted Darryl to coach and he insisted on his brother.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

I am not going to get into another 'we should have started the rebuild earlier' debate.

I get their thought process. You don't. Cool.

The reason the Flames were so pitiful throughout the 90s was because of this exact same directive of trying to market a playoff team to fans who aren't stupid enough to buy it.

It's actually pretty insulting to the fan base as a whole to think we would buy that garbage. It's equally as unsurprising that the majority of fans who wanted a rebuild to start sooner were actually on the mark when you hear comments like this from Brent.

Now that we're here, I find the rebuild to be far less frustrating then going through the same insanity that was the "retool" phase every season.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by T@T

Hmmm, I heard a little different story as in the "higher ups" wanted Darryl to coach and he insisted on his brother.

I don't buy that at all, Darryl is a coach first and foremost. I heard the exact same rumours that King vetoed D.Sutter from coaching again because he wanted Brent brought in instead. Why on earth would he refuse another coaching opportunity with the Flames only to go back behind the bench shortly thereafter with the Kings?

[DOOM]

If anything Keenan got a raw deal from the Flames.

The Flames had a big lead in the division and then ran into a crazy amount of injuries, couldn't ice a full lineup because of our cap situation, but we still made the playoffs and lost in 6 games against the Blackhawks.

I still think that team had the potential to make a long playoff run, if it were not for the injuries.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by DOOM

If anything Keenan got a raw deal from the Flames.

The Flames had a big lead in the division and then ran into a crazy amount of injuries, couldn't ice a full lineup because of our cap situation, but we still made the playoffs and lost in 6 games against the Blackhawks.

I still think that team had the potential to make a long playoff run, if it were not for the injuries.

wasn't that just 1 game?

I think the whole summary is, those 5 years were a big flaming bag of pooh. Keenan retired on the job, Brent was too stubborn and thick headed, Iginla became a demi-god and King/Feaster treating him as such probably set us back years in development, as a result of this crap Darryl pulled off stupid trades to try and "win now" and totally screwed up our crap and lost assets for nothing, Feaster made it worse trading our blue chip players for junk... the funny thing is the biggest screw up of all finally brought the house of cards down, and we can finally recover from all these screw ups. Or at least, it looks like Burke/Treliving have us on the right path so far.... here's hoping all that promise shows at least some fruition.