Huberdeau's agent: "Negativity sucks the joy right out of players"

[davidbjordan]

Sutter’s teams are known as being intense and fast, said Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice.

“It’s simple, but not by any means that in a negative (way). That’s a real strength of his teams. Very direct, very predictable, in a good way,” he said. “They’re going to be exceptionally well-coached, they’re going to play real hard and they’re going to play real fast.”

That's the way they played last year and the continuous comments from Darryl backed it up in how he wanted the team to play. So what's changed? obviously two of the teams best puck carriers aren't on the team.

Huberdeau can be unhappy all he wants about the team or the coach, until he shows me that he can create and be a play maker i'm not going to take sides.

[BigFlameDog]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Honestly I would argue up to this point Huberdeau has been a lot more professional than Sutter has been this season.

If anyone has been lacking professionalism this season it's been Sutter.

The comments about Huberdeau taking a ####, the Pelletier press conference, how he handled the question when asked about Phillips.

Sutter has been a grumpy crank all season that hasn't acted professionally IMO.

Sutter has been doing textbook coaching deflection 101 to try to have people focus on him and not his teams apparent "lack of getting hugs" issues. When he said the take a #### comment people talked about that for a week rather than how sub par Huberdeau was playing. When he was a smart arse about Pelletier, the press focused on that rather than worrying about him not getting his first goal until 7 games later.

Grumpy crank could write a book on this stuff and 3/4 of the coaches in the NHM would buy it. I'm not saying he nails it every time but he is calculated.

Even today, what are we arguing about in this thread? Thanks Walsh.

[AC]

Guess it's time to replace the authoritarian coach who has lost the room with a fun, player's coach who we realize in 3 years can't get this group to commit to a 2 way game and obviously need to replace him with another short-lived authoritarian coach...

The circle of mediocrity continues.

[Royle9]

Originally Posted by Major Major

It was a joke. Unfunny, awkward, bad comedic timing. Check, check, check. But if you're telling me there's no way back from that and the team quit on him and themselves and the fans in that moment, we need a new team.

Call it what you want, but I can tell you they didnt find it funny.

Let's pretend for a second that your boss had this schtick where he put everyone down *all the time* and talks about you in the media after every game like your non-existent and not good enough.
Proceed to constantly throw your co-workers under the bus too, including ones that just started pretending like he doesn't even know who they are.
Now, that happened for the first 2 months constantly and now has continued for the entire year.

Would you be over it? Do the players have to pretend like its okay just because fans watch them? If anything they've taken the high road in not saying anything in the media.

It was a bad look, at bad time to a player this franchise invested heavily in. The results speak for themselves, the guy lost all confidence. Sutter's attitude wears thin on every team he coaches for, that's why his shelf life has remained the same.

[Vinny01]

I don’t want to take a side in the Huberdeau-Sutter deal because they both own this. Sutter has made a lot of questionable decisions this year. Huberdeau has been trash this year straight up garbage.

I think the team is far more tied to Huberdeau than Sutter so he should win the power struggle if there is one. If the Flames trade Huberdeau for a collection of cap dumps he will make them look bad in the short term but even then getting out of that contract wouldn’t be the worst thing.

[rooster]

Originally Posted by Scroopy Noopers

Sutter as GM. Boudreau as Coach. Let’s go!

Yes, excellent assessment. Boudreau is not abrasive like Sutter. The team obviously has had enough of Sutter. I think this would transform the team.

[calgarygringo]

Kadri mentioned a couple of times that there is team issues on the Frankly broadcast the other day. He never got into details but he mentioned it a few times when asked whats wrong with the Flames.

Sounds like the boys are just not playing a team game and it is really showing all their frustrations. Unfortunately Sutter only has a short life on any team he coaches and because of his style his time runs out pretty quick.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by dammage79

I think Walsh just put to "paper" what we are all seeing and hearing. Something is very wrong in the room.

Pair this with Tanevs post game interview and the picture becomes really clear.

At very least, Walsh’s cryptic tweet is the perfect nugget for those with confirmation bias who feel like going on a rant about Darryl Sutter (or, less commonly, Huberdeau).

The picture isn’t really clear at all. There is obviously an issue, and maybe it is that the team has quit on Sutter, but the overwhelming number of fantasies people have dreamt up about what it’s like in the room and what everyone they watch play hockey on TV is thinking and feeling has been pretty funny. When it gets to the point where people are saying that any time a team has been good under Sutter it has been to spite Sutter, or reframing the Gaudreau situation as Sutter’s fault, that’s just people believing what they want to believe. And Walsh’s tweet has inspired a lot of that.

[81MC]

84 million dollars should buy all the joy a worker needs. Sorry, this isn’t ####ing kindergarten.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Lanny_McDonald

No one saw this coming. No one. Sutter still remains a dinosaur getting a team of modern athletes to try and play a style of hockey that doesn't work in this league. The only success this team has had is when the top line from last year's squad went lone wolf and exploited their skills. Sutter is not a good coach in the latest iteration of hockey. Everything he does counters playing with speed and tempo, counters quick transition, counters using open ice, and counters creativity. You can count on one hand the players who are actually playing well. You need both hands and have to take a shoe and sock off to count the players who are just okay to disappointing. Sutter has always had a best before date and that date has passed. Time to fire him into the sun. If Treliving can't figure this out, like right now, then he should have a seat right next to Sutter in the nosecone of Parker Solar Probe II.

Counterpoint; Sutter has a system that has won a couple of cups, made the playoffs more often than not and is a surefire hall of famer.

To add to that, the Flames are consistently outshooting teams by a significant margin. The system works. It's actually working now, and hockey is a weird game. A couple things here or there, and the outcomes are completely different. The problem is this team is so fragile and has zero confidence. Something bad happens (tough break, stupid penalty or whatever) and what should be 1-0 Flames turns into 1-0 for the other guys and they just can't bounce back.

It should even out...but not really over the course of a season. It just sucks to be in this position, but changing the coach doesn't necessarily fix any of that.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by 81MC

84 million dollars should buy all the joy a worker needs. Sorry, this isn’t ####ing kindergarten.

Seriously, did Walsh forget that they’ve already signed a max extension?

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by AC

Guess it's time to replace the authoritarian coach who has lost the room with a fun, player's coach who we realize in 3 years can't get this group to commit to a 2 way game and obviously need to replace him with another short-lived authoritarian coach...

The circle of mediocrity continues.

Yup it is absolutely ridiculous

Hard ass Hartley to Good guy Gulutzan to Pissed off Peters to Willy Wonka Ward to Stubborn Sutter back to not mean Mueller?

[Toonage]

I mean, Scotty Bowman won a lot of cups too, but I'm not sure he'd be great as a coach today.

Its been almost 10 years since Sutter won. Things have changed.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

At very least, Walsh’s cryptic tweet is the perfect nugget for those with confirmation bias who feel like going on a rant about Darryl Sutter (or, less commonly, Huberdeau).

The picture isn’t really clear at all. There is obviously an issue, and maybe it is that the team has quit on Sutter, but the overwhelming number of fantasies people have dreamt up about what it’s like in the room and what everyone they watch play hockey on TV is thinking and feeling has been pretty funny. When it gets to the point where people are saying that any time a team has been good under Sutter it has been to spite Sutter, or reframing the Gaudreau situation as Sutter’s fault, that’s just people believing what they want to believe. And Walsh’s tweet has inspired a lot of that.

I don't know. There's been a lot of groundswell about division in the entire organization this year. Having a bad season just amplifies everything. That's just normal.

Obviously things aren't a fit and everyone is to blame. Although I'm going to give Treliving a bit of grace here.

But at the end of the day it's his build. So he has to answer for it.

Anyways, I've been pretty clear all season I accept a bad season this year. I never thought it was going to be clear sailing with the turn over at the top of the roster.

It's going to be a weary final couple months.

[gamesaver]

Originally Posted by Major Major

The narrative that last year's team didn't play an uptempo modern style of game throughout the lineup and Sutter coached them to be slow but 2 players on contract years flipped him the bird and said we do it our way is so freaking stupid I can't even fathom it. You'd have to have a mix of I fell off a roof but still have opinions amnesia and Brett Einstein I'm a scientist who can't read a scientific paper so everything is a conspiracy thinking to believe this.

The difference between the last year and this year is Tkachuk, Gaudreau, Kylington and 0,92% goaltending. The team playes the same way, generates a lot of o-zone time and a high shot volume, but with low scoring percentage. Also atrocious powerplay, because again, there is no Gaudreau and Tkachuk. No powerplay quarterback as well. It is the exact same team minus the scoring talent, which puts waaay more pressure on the goaltending. And they shat the bed. But it all starts with scoring. Even in LA Sutter had Kopitar and Doughty. The powerplay would took care of itself somehow. But the fact they have done absolute dog#### about the PP the whole season shows how clueless this coaching is.

With Huberdeau you gotta think who you actually signed. An elite passer, but who is he supposed to pass to? Kadri? Pelletier? And you expect this will make him hit 100 points as with Barkov? Let alone the fact the team is supposed to play dump and chase = no passing play at all? Huberdeau won't fit into Sutter system? Oh no, who could guess that one?

I will say it again, this management / ownership is absolutely cluess about what they have and what they want to build for. Getting Sutter for Gaudreau and Tkachuk, when you want nothing else but re-signing them. Then the panic trade for Huberdeau because Tkachuk wants out.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by AC

Guess it's time to replace the authoritarian coach who has lost the room with a fun, player's coach who we realize in 3 years can't get this group to commit to a 2 way game and obviously need to replace him with another short-lived authoritarian coach...

The circle of mediocrity continues.

The nice thing about being a Flames fan is that the problem is always the coach. Even after complaining for years about not being able to get good coaches, we get a Stanley Cup and Jack Adam’s winning coach and… yup, still the coach.

It’s nice always having that in our pocket.

Mike Keenan? It was the coach, too mean!
Brent Sutter? The coach, too slow!
Bob Hartley? The coach, too mean!
Glen Gulutzan? The coach, too nice and inexperienced!
Bill Peters? The coach, too mean! (and racist, legit reason)
Geoff Ward? Too nice and inexperienced!
Darryl Sutter? Too mean!

One day we’ll get the absolute perfect coach for everybody. We just need to try another 5-10 minimum before we find him (or her by that point).

[Toonage]

Maybe they need to stop paying for has beens, first timers or bargains

Though I guess that eliminates every coach

[rooster]

Originally Posted by Major Major

It should be joyless right now. They suck. I'd be pissed if they were getting joy out of this. Shut up and score. How many times has the puck found its way to Huberdeau's stick only to die immediately? 75% of all the time? This is Sutter's fault somehow? Because he's not joyful? Give me a break Walsh and give me a break Sutter haters of CP. Dude has only himself to blame for this season. And if times are tough, look to the guy next to you and dig the #### out. Don't go to your agent and say hey can you fight this battle for me.

I'm not going to sit here and say Sutter has had a perfect season, but at the end of the day, this team plays well enough that if the team's 2 superstars didn't absolutely have a mental collapse this season, we'd be on top of the division. Their analytics are good - great in every area except save percentage and number of plays Huberdeau's didn't screw up percentage.

People's heads are going to explode when the flames do the right thing and show patience to the coach and tell huberdeau to show a little meddle and deal with it.

STFU!!! Huby never went to his agent and said "hey can u fight this battle for me".
Coaching has been garbage since the playoffs versus oilers. Force feeding Markstrom even thou the whole world could see Vladar was playing much better, giving Lucic way to much time on the top lines, one of the worst powerplays in the league. I can't remember all the stupid decisions by this coaching staff.

[Royle9]

Originally Posted by AC

Guess it's time to replace the authoritarian coach who has lost the room with a fun, player's coach who we realize in 3 years can't get this group to commit to a 2 way game and obviously need to replace him with another short-lived authoritarian coach...

The circle of mediocrity continues.

Yep, which is why this entire organization top down needs an enema.

[Bingo]

Man 11 pages of people literally reposting their exact same thoughts that they've had for months.

How fun!

To me it's all of it.

Sutter can be a prick to play for.
Huberdeau is having a terrible season and has to take some blame for it.
Walsh is a pain in the ass agent that generally steps on his own appendage on social media.

Calgary's best players haven't been all that "best" this year, and its killing them.