This just illustrates how difficult this summer will be for the Flames GM. If settling the coach thing is at the top of the list, then figuring out what to do with the goaltending situation is right behind it as I'm don't know if bringing both goaltenders back and hoping for them to turn things around is an option after what we have seen this season.
I honestly think a new voice in the GM chair wouldn't hurt. Treliving has been forced to gamble a lot the last couple of years and they all haven't paid off. Such is gambling though. I feel he must be getting exhausted when the universe keeps throwing him all these things he has to deal with (superstars leaving, goalie cratering a season) and if I was him I'd go spend a winter on a beach somewhere.
The Following User Says Thank You to Burning Beard For This Useful Post:
I'm not buying that an adjustment could be made to help Markstrom stop all those innocent looking shots. I get people are mad at the season and targeting the coaching so I feel they are selectively forgetting how bad and deflating many of the goals were this season.
You put a Mike Smith in net this year and this is a playoff team. And I am not a fan of Smith at all!
Granted Vladar hasn't been great in the back half of the year, but he was significantly better then Markstrom in the first half of the year. We will never know if Vladar would have continued to perform like he was earlier, however, Sutter was not willing to ride the hot hand during that time. Had he made just that one adjustment its likely we would be getting chased for the final spot rather than being the chaser.
Not to mention Lucic on the second line forever, not giving Phillips a real shot. Lucic's best games were after he sat in the press box for a few games. Then he was a regular in the lineup again for a long time underperforming, then another break in the press box, and his last game was pretty good.
His allocation of ice time has been atrocious, being down a goal with 10 minutes to go in the 3rd and your playing your 4th line for 2 or 3 of those minutes.
Honest question. What coach would look good in front of Markstroms performance this year? Or Vladar?
.889 and .896
Almost like having a horrible goalie is really hard to overcome.
Sutters most successful seasons aligned with goalies having great years. Kipper, Quick, Markstrom last year. Sometimes your goalie sucks and you hit 80 posts. I would be disappointed to see Sutter go.
The Following User Says Thank You to flames_fan_down_under For This Useful Post:
"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."
Quote:
"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 ..."
Quote:
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.'"
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.
“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.”
Quote:
“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.”
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.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Savvy27 For This Useful Post:
Tyler Toffoli better be thanking Sutter. He's drowning in 1st line and PP1 usage. He's having a career year because he's been put in a position to succeed by Sutter. He's getting the chances that none of his other coaches gave him. Toffoli was not a PP1 guy with any other team/coach. He's blown away his career highs on the PP this year.
The Following User Says Thank You to InternationalVillager For This Useful Post:
Tyler Toffoli better be thanking Sutter. He's drowning in 1st line and PP1 usage. He's having a career year because he's been put in a position to succeed by Sutter. He's getting the chances that none of his other coaches gave him. Toffoli was not a PP1 guy with any other team/coach. He's blown away his career highs on the PP this year.
It's a two-way street. He's being rewarded by the coach because he's playing well. I'm not sure how that's a negative.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to AndyM For This Useful Post:
Tyler Toffoli better be thanking Sutter. He's drowning in 1st line and PP1 usage. He's having a career year because he's been put in a position to succeed by Sutter. He's getting the chances that none of his other coaches gave him. Toffoli was not a PP1 guy with any other team/coach. He's blown away his career highs on the PP this year.
[How to type a lot of words but not say anything of any value at all.]
The Following User Says Thank You to topfiverecords For This Useful Post:
Not sure why the Toffoli quotes are being used as a gotchya. Both things can be true. Tyler can be the type of guy that isn't bothered by Sutter, or able to tune out some it and take forward what he needs. Others likely don't/can't (Valimaki etc).
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Locke
Thats why Flames fans make ideal Star Trek fans. We've really been taught to embrace the self-loathing and extreme criticism.
