Good for him. Feels like there's a been a Sutter in the org in some capacity for almost my entire life as a Flames fan, good to see the tradition continue!
Depending on how old you are, there has been.
Brian was the first member of the family hired by the Flames in 1997. He coached the team for 3 seasons until the end of the 1999-2000 season.
Ron joined the team as a player the following season in 2000-01. After he retired, he moved into a scouting position with the Flames starting in 2001-02. He held a few different roles over the years, but stayed with the Flames until 2020-21, which was the season Darryl returned to coach the team.
Darryl's final season was 2022-23, which was Brett's first year with the Wranglers as a player.
It looks like Ron was a mid-season signing in early 2001, so there would have been a few months between Brian being fired and Ron signing that there wasn't a Sutter in the organization, but there has been one here for at least part of every season since 1997-98.
There was a short stretch from Brent's hiring in the summer of 2009 until Brett was traded in late 2010 when Darryl, Brent, Duane, Ron, and Brett were all employed within the Flames organization.
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Completely random but in googling, watching Darryl lose it on Denis Morel (who had all sorts of famous dubious calls in his career) in 1992 looks somewhat like his son (though Darryl had more hair as a rookie coach then Brett does now). But what a unbelievably terrible call.
I'm old but not that old but has there ever been a father-son to be a head coach in the NHL? If Brett ever gets a shot with the Flames I'm pretty positive they would be the first to coach the same team.
The Sutters are not Pokemon. We don't have to catch them all!
Brett as HC and Duane, Brent and Darryl as Assistants? Who is going to tend the farm? We'd be vacating all of Viking...
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I'm old but not that old but has there ever been a father-son to be a head coach in the NHL? If Brett ever gets a shot with the Flames I'm pretty positive they would be the first to coach the same team.
Rangers
Lester Patrick
Muzz Patrick
Craig Patrick
Grandfather/Father
Son
Grandson/Nephew
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“He was a typical dad — just really excited for me,” said Brett, himself a father of three, starting to chuckle as he recounted the next part of this special conversation. “And then he asked if he could be my assistant coach.”
From the family farm in Viking, Alta., Darryl doesn’t make it sound like a very enticing offer.
“I told him if he needed a 66-year-old has-been, that I’m available,” he quipped.
Quote:
The Flames believe that Brett Sutter could be a rising star in the behind-the-bench business.
“He made sure we knew he was ready for this job,” said general manager Craig Conroy. “He didn’t duck any of the questions. He just told us, ‘I know I’m ready, and nobody is going to work harder than me if I get this job.’ And I believe that, I do.
“He has a presence already, with the way that he carries himself and the way he speaks. We were in meetings at the end of the year and he was talking about some of the players and the pro scouts that were in that meeting listening to what he said, they said to me later, ‘Wow, he’s very impressive.’ Even they started talking — ‘This guy is going to be a head coach one day.’ ”
Quote:
Sutter was one of two internal candidates — Joe Cirella will remain on staff to tutor the defencemen — but there was widespread interest in the position.
Word is, the Flames completed close to 20 interviews.
When they narrowed in on their top choice, there was one potential reference they didn’t contact, and that is not a case of any hard feelings after Darryl was dismissed as the Flames’ skipper at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
“I didn’t want him to think, ‘Did my Dad help me get this?’ ” Conroy explained. “Because that wasn’t the case.
“Darryl was an amazing coach. The whole family, really, at one point or another, coached. So for Brett to be able to lean on them if he needs any help, I think that’s great. And then when you listen to what he says and how he thinks the game, you do see some of the qualities that maybe Darryl had. He’s different from his dad. He has a different personality in the way he talks to players, his demeanour, stuff like that. But the way he thinks the game, there’s a lot of similarities, which is something I really valued.”
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Off the top f my head I can't think of many other families that have had multiple head coaches like the Sutter family. Probably not going that far out on a limb saying that the Sutter family probably has the most wins. It is neat to see potentially another generation will be adding to that tally.
Last edited by Robbob; 07-21-2025 at 02:15 PM.
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Off the top f my head I can't think of many other families that have had multiple head coaches like the Sutter family.
I think you'd have to go all the way back to the Patrick family. Lester Patrick was the first coach/GM of the Rangers (after running his own pro league, the PCHA), his son Lynn followed him with the Rangers, and his second son Muzz coached the Bruins. Lynn's son Craig was GM of the Penguins for most of Mario Lemieux's career, including the Cup wins in 1991 and 1992.
But that's going a loooooong way back: so long, in fact, that it was Lester Patrick who invented the blue line!
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Looked up the Patrick family (apologies for formatting):
.....................From...To........G....W......L......T
Craig Patrick...1981 1997...169...66....81....22
Frank Patrick...1935 1936 ..96....48....36.....12
Lester Patrick..1927 1939 ..604..281...216..107
Lynn Patrick....1949 1976 ..443..165...196...82
Muzz Patrick....1954 1963 ..136..43.....66....27
Total win 603
Sutter family sitting at 1425
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You have to bear in mind that the hockey season was much shorter when most of the Patricks were coaching. Even so, the Sutters have them beat hands down.
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Yeah it is pretty impressive what that family has done. Most points by a family (3235) and probably most by games played (5836). All on top of the coaching side which add another almost 2989 games. Probably could hit 10,000 games if you include the playoffs for playing and coaching.
That was a fun rabbit hole to go down this afternoon.
Yeah it is pretty impressive what that family has done. Most points by a family (3235) and probably most by games played (5836). All on top of the coaching side which add another almost 2989 games. Probably could hit 10,000 games if you include the playoffs for playing and coaching.
That was a fun rabbit hole to go down this afternoon.
Just barely edging out the Hulls in points (3215 between Bobby, Dennis, and Brett). Hulls would take it if you included WHA (3853).
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Just barely edging out the Hulls in points (3215 between Bobby, Dennis, and Brett). Hulls would take it if you included WHA (3853).
I thought the Howe family would be close if you added the WHL, but they end up at 3819. For NHL totals though that 3235 is pretty decent. Maybe the Tkachuks have a shot if they can stay healthy.
