[News] Darryl Sutter out as Head Coach. Maloney presser at 11:30 AM MT

[Savvy27]

This seemed like the only way forward. As others have mentioned, a coach with an abrupt and unrelenting style is going to have a shorter shelf-life and 2 and a half seasons with only one playoff appearance is probably as long as it was going to last.
I do wish the best for Sutter as he has been a large part of some of the best Flames memories I have. Hall of Fame Coach for sure.

Looking forward, I am curious to see which direction they will go. I was leaning towards Mitch Love, but I do wonder a bit about his experience. It might change this year, but he hasn't won a championship at any level as a head coach and has only coached 3 full seasons (two were Covid shortened). Bednar and Cooper both had more experience as Head Coach and both won championships (Cooper coached 4 championship [NAHLx2, USHL, AHL] teams in the 6 seasons prior to being hired in Tampa Bay).

I am wary that a veteran team which was able to influence the organization to oust a coach will be a very challenging environment for a first time NHL coach to walk into, especially one who did not play in the NHL.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

So what’s your angle here?

Suggesting that a guy who had an opportunity to burn a year of his ELC would decide not do so because of the guy who was coach?

Is that what you were going for?

I think you're smart enough and have read the material.

[Erick Estrada]

This takes the sting off Treliving leaving as the team really is starting off fresh here. New eyes on the roster and voice in the locker room

[mile]

Originally Posted by howard_the_duck

Needed to be done, but I can't help but feel for Darryl.

I was hoping they could have amicably agreed to him stepping back into a consulting role or something like that.

He's done a lot for this franchise, and to be recruited out of retirement only to be fired two years later..it's an unfortunate ending. He didn't need this gig.

This 100%. Hate that it came to this. Even when he wasn’t coaching this team, he cared more about this franchise than guys like Gulutzan and Ward.

He was a Flames fan before he took the job. Hopefully he’s still a Flames fan after this.

[Macho0978]

This team is going to have some youth next year. They need a GM and Coach who sees the value in be patient with these kids from day 1 and hope the grow into the players they are projected to be. This is the only way this team will turn the corner in the near future. We are not moving into cup contending status with a ton of players with no upside through the roster. This team already has a bunch on the verge of trending downwards.

[NewFan]

Now the team needs to go rebuild next 2-3 years.
New arena, new upcoming young team after 3 season should be perfect timing.
In my opinion, if this team win the cup it will be consists players who was drafted and developed, home growing players plus a couple free agents.
So please make next move and start to rebuild with a new GM and new coach like Mitch Love.

[8sPOT]

Originally Posted by NewFan

Now the team needs to go rebuild next 2-3 years.
New arena, new upcoming young team after 3 season should be perfect timing.
In my opinion, if this team win the cup it will be consists players who was drafted and developed, home growing players plus a couple free agents.
So please make next move and start to rebuild with a new GM and new coach like Mitch Love.

Yes. And for the love of God lets move away from drafting Americans, I can't take the heartache.

Canadians and Euros only.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

This takes the sting off Treliving leaving as the team really is starting off fresh here. New eyes on the roster and voice in the locker room

I really hope so. There essentially needs to be a total refresh for this organization. If I had it my way I would also like to see Maloney gone, simply because I want a completely clean slate but that's not happening...

In my opinion this has been probably the most frustrating and discouraging 365 days as a Flames fan ever. We have gone from winning our division, one of our best regular seasons ever, a playoff series win (which is a telling milestone), to losing to the Oilers, to losing our best players, to this god awful season, to core pieces saying they're not happy to be here, to seeing our GM choose to leave, to our coach being fired. There has to be a complete shift in organizational philosophy and it has to happen now. I know we all love Backs, and Lindholm, but the time is now to move on from these guys and just start over from top to bottom. Maximize the return on guys with one year left. Get draft picks, let's move into this new building with a new found sense of purpose and a cultural shift. The opportunity is literally staring this organization in the face, it has never been this obvious to completely tear it all down.

[Burning Beard]

Originally Posted by howard_the_duck

Interestingly, IF the rumors are true that Edwards brought in Sutter and went around the GM...is there a lesson learned here? If nothing else, in the form of $8M of dead money.

Perhaps a come to Jesus and further evidence to let the hockey people make the hockey decisions.

We can only hope.

Gulutzan and Ward fan are ya? Weren't they Tre "hockey people" hires?

[Calgary4LIfe]

We can't cross-out some of the assistants/associate coach in the organization either. Huska was touted as a future head coach. Kirk Muller was a coach before and was also a fairly heralded newcomer when he first became a coach. MacLean was well-thought of as well in Stockton and got promoted into the NHL and has been groomed to become a coach.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by badradio

Hoping they can sign Phillips now and give him a real shot that he deserves.

Yeah, he'll be interesting this summer. Everyone is expecting him to walk away, but this could change that, especially if Love is the new coach.

He'll likely be getting roughly the same offer from different teams, so he might decide to stay with the team whose coaches know him -- and trust him.

[Samonadreau]

Mitchlovin please

[Kipper_3434]

Not pleased. Ship out the whiners first.

[Jetfire]

Originally Posted by cral12

New Coach: McLovin

Steinberg would make a terrible coach

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

Wow. The jack adams really is the kiss of death isn't it?

It makes sense for it to be since it often goes to the coach with the greatest improvement and often that size of an improvement isn't truly sustainable (such as in the case of Hartley and Sutter).

Other situations are where it goes to a team that achieves extraordinary regular season success, but as we've seen in recent years that doesn't always translate to playoff success. This year's favourite is Montgomery but if the Bruins have a bit of a dip next season and then lose in the first round again he might not last much longer.

[Leeman4Gilmour]

The whole "team chose coach over GM" story line doesn't make sense anymore, but that doesn't matter now. The team was broken last year. Hopefully changes at the most influential leadership positions fix the break.

Interesting to see if they go internal (Conroy w/Huska or Love), go external, or a mix.

[Cycling76er]

Originally Posted by Kipper_3434

Not pleased. Ship out the whiners first.

The door is right over there.

[Bluzman]

Good riddance!

[kermitology]

I strongly believe that this is ultimately the right move for the organization. Sutter cost this team a LOT in both of his tenures, and I think he really put too much emphasis on the role players or players with lots of experience.

Rhett put it really well on Barn Burner after Treliving departed saying that the 2004 team was actually quite young, and he took the failure to win in 2004 as "we needed experience" when it was literally the hardest path anyone had ever taken to get to the final. 4 division winners, 26 games.. you NEED youth in your line up to help you win.

Even if we look at the Kings roster, he had some talented, but youthful players who were key to it in Kopitar, Doughty, and Quick, with Carter in his prime.

He lost the room very early on after the first loss to the Oilers, the 'taking a ####' line, and he galvanized the factions with his petty post-game regarding Pelletier.

He's a good coach, but he's never actually understood what it was that actually made his teams good. It NEEDS youthful skill.

[lazypucker]

I feel great today as Sutter is gone and Edwards loses $8-mil for nothing.