[Rumour] Backlund leaning towards not re-signing with Flames

[Major Major]

Don't know why when we read what these guys say and watch their hesitancy everything always comes back to Sutter. Dude is gone and that has removed a mere shade of skepticism in that room.

The takeaway to me in what Backlund says and Lindholm is perhaps thinking is that this room was disrupted last year and they didn't deal with it well from a players perspective. They are now wondering if they can get on as a team but they are don't seem very confident. Obviously Sutter had to go for there to be any chance, but he seems like he was a piece of a much larger problem.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by Major Major

Don't know why when we read what these guys say and watch their hesitancy everything always comes back to Sutter. Dude is gone and that has removed a mere shade of skepticism in that room.

The takeaway to me in what Backlund says and Lindholm is perhaps thinking is that this room was disrupted last year and they didn't deal with it well from a players perspective. They are now wondering if they can get on as a team but they are don't seem very confident. Obviously Sutter had to go for there to be any chance, but he seems like he was a piece of a much larger problem.

Doesn't read like that at all.

Sounds like the lack of success and the constant churning of coaches is weighing on him if he wants to come back. He is in that age range now that he is closer to retirement now so he probably wants to win.

[dustygoon]

Sutter man.

Imagine that dressing room. Sutter teeing off on players for losing while Markstrom sits quietly in his stall after giving up so many opening goals and singlehandedly losing several games on his own.

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by dustygoon

Sutter man.

Imagine that dressing room. Sutter teeing off on players for losing while Markstrom sits quietly in his stall after giving up so many opening goals and singlehandedly losing several games on his own.

Like what the hell happened to him this past year?? It's like the Oilers were holding one of his family members or horse hostage the whole year.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

Like what the hell happened to him this past year?? It's like the Oilers were holding one of his family members or horse hostage the whole year.

Baby.

[Toast_Man]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

Like what the hell happened to him this past year?? It's like the Oilers were holding one of his family members or horse hostage the whole year.

He won the Jack Adams and realized he was being too soft.

[VilleN]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Baby.

I could see that being the case. Any parents here can remember what having your first child was like. I found it hard to focus on other things as your priorities change, the lack of sleep, etc. However, once I settled into it I was more focused then ever as it kind of forces you to grow up and leave a lot of bull #### behind - that was how it was for me anyways.

[Major Major]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Doesn't read like that at all.

Sounds like the lack of success and the constant churning of coaches is weighing on him if he wants to come back. He is in that age range now that he is closer to retirement now so he probably wants to win.

I mean, I can quote the part where he laments the departure of the old players or the part where he regrets that the new players didn't fit from day one or the part where he says that spun the room into a cycle of negativity when things weren't working.

Sounds like it's more complicated than Sutter is the villain and everything is cured now.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Major Major

I mean, I can quote the part where he laments the departure of the old players or the part where he regrets that the new players didn't fit from day one or the part where he says that spun the room into a cycle of negativity when things weren't working.

Sounds like it's more complicated than Sutter is the villain and everything is cured now.

Sounds like he's saying the locker room never got a chance to build chemistry and things became negative. It all points to the coach IMO for cultivating an environment of negativity. If there was really a rift between the players then I'm sure guys like Lindholm and Backlund would have told the team they 100% wouldn't return but that's not been the case now that there's a new coach. For Backlund it seems like it's all about winning and that's totally fair and it sounds like Lindholm is in the same camp but also wants to get paid.

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Would sure like to know what this means ...



Negative leadership. Same leadership as the year before?

Originally Posted by heep223

Seems to be referring to Sutter, when you’re winning you can deal with an ####### coach, when you’re losing it’s harder to deal with an ####### coach as well.

It could be the translation, but the last line quoted almost gives the impression it went deeper. Have to wonder if the alleged rift between Sutter and Treliving trickled throughout the staff/players and there were some camps.

Even in the dressing room, you would have to think guys such as Lucic, Toffoli, and Lewis were Team Sutter. Leadership types now out of the organization.

Sutter was part of the problem, but the more that trickles out it sounds as if it was toxic across the board.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Sounds like he's saying the locker room never got a chance to build chemistry and things became negative. It all points to the coach IMO for cultivating an environment of negativity. If there was really a rift between the players then I'm sure guys like Lindholm and Backlund would have told the team they 100% wouldn't return but that's not been the case now that there's a new coach. For Backlund it seems like it's all about winning and that's totally fair and it sounds like Lindholm is in the same camp but also wants to get paid.

He's also saying 3 strong leadership voices left the room. I heard Gudbranson also helped glue things together, stand up to Sutter, etc. as well.

Losing those voices did more to cause locker room issues than anticipated because we only looked at the on-ice performance.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Toonage

Yep. Sutter deals in negative reinforcement. Fine (to an extent I'd imagine) if you're winning, grating (at best) if you're losing.

Seems to me that was the take from LA as well.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

He's also saying 3 strong leadership voices left the room. I heard Gudbranson also helped glue things together, stand up to Sutter, etc. as well.

Losing those voices did more to cause locker room issues than anticipated because we only looked at the on-ice performance.

Yeah several leaders were removed and that's going to hurt any locker room. You can't expect Huberdeau and Kadri to pick up the leadership mantle in a new locker room and it seems that there was a void and maybe there were factions in the locker room as said above with some players in the Sutter camp and others not. Regardless that's something that shouldn't be an issue last season as Sutter, Toffoli, and Lucic are gone.

[Flamesfan05]

Team was bad
Sutter came and fixed it
Team was bad again

I doubt Sutter is the only problem

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Yeah several leaders were removed and that's going to hurt any locker room. You can't expect Huberdeau and Kadri to pick up the leadership mantle in a new locker room and it seems that there was a void and maybe there were factions in the locker room as said above with some players in the Sutter camp and others not. Regardless that's something that shouldn't be an issue last season as Sutter, Toffoli, and Lucic are gone.

Wasn't a problem for Tkachuk

[Toonage]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Wasn't a problem for Tkachuk

True, but Tkachuk wasn't walking into an already splintered locker room run by a tyrant (to the best of my knowledge)

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Wasn't a problem for Tkachuk

On a team that has had the same captain for the last five years? Yeah, that's an easy transition compared to coming to a team without one.

[gvitaly]

I don't think this comes back to Sutter. It comes back to a lack of leadership in the room. It also shows me that none of the previous core(Backlund, Lindholm, Andersson, Tanev, Mangiapane) are fit to captain this team in a way that would push players and keep them accountable.

In fact I doubt there's anyone fit to be captain right now. If we must have one then the best bet is if one of Huberdeau, Kadri, and Weegar. Hopefully, they are more comfortable and have a bigger voice in the room now that they've been here for a year.

[868904]

Originally Posted by Major Major

I mean, I can quote the part where he laments the departure of the old players or the part where he regrets that the new players didn't fit from day one or the part where he says that spun the room into a cycle of negativity when things weren't working.

Sounds like it's more complicated than Sutter is the villain and everything is cured now.

Sutter haters will read whatever they want. It’s pretty clear from that article that the original core is not sure about the new guys brought in and I’d say very specifically, Huberdeau and Kadri, as Weegar seems to have fit in with everyone.

If they were sure those guys are the players their reputations suggest they are, they’d have re-signed by now. I mean who wouldn’t want to play with a 115 point play making winger and a Stanley cup winning gritty second line centre? But that’s not who those guys were last year and the guys aren’t sure it wasn’t just because of Sutter. Also, Sutter was the same the year before as Backlund clearly states, so it wasn’t fun for Gaudreau and Tkachuk neither, but those guys performed, they excelled instead of quitting. That is, those two guys performed in the face of adversity and the two new guys did not and those two guys are the two highest paid guys for the next 6 years, they are the horses that will be pulling this wagon. It’s clear that there is a lack of confidence in the top of this roster and Lindholm and Backlund want to see what Huberdeau and Kadri can do this season before extending.

[Major Major]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Sounds like he's saying the locker room never got a chance to build chemistry and things became negative. It all points to the coach IMO for cultivating an environment of negativity. If there was really a rift between the players then I'm sure guys like Lindholm and Backlund would have told the team they 100% wouldn't return but that's not been the case now that there's a new coach. For Backlund it seems like it's all about winning and that's totally fair and it sounds like Lindholm is in the same camp but also wants to get paid.

Ok but if you go by what he said, the issues were:

-Sutter
-losing
-disjointed room

Anyone could say that any of those is caused by the other, and they'd probably be right. But he's not pointing at 1 thing, he's pointing at 3.

If you fix 2, the third falls into place. They've fixed 1.