The Athletic: How Sutter lost the room and his job

[activeStick]

So very dissapointing to learn about all of this stuff about Sutter. I used to have a ton of respect for the guy not only as a coach, but also as a person.

[bax]

Not surprised to hear Gudbranson was one of the buffers. His value always came from the behind the scenes stuff, granted he was solid on the ice in a sheltered role here too.

Surprised to hear about Tkachuk. Only adds to the sting of losing him

[CliffFletcher]

There are other accounts of NHL coaches smacking/kicking/etc players on the bench, so this isn’t an extraordinary incident in itself (though thankfully it seems to be becoming less tolerated). It sounds like the player himself didn’t make a big deal out of it, but a teammate did. So the main takeaway is the broken room and the toxic relationship between some players and Sutter.

[rhino]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Can we just erase last season already?

what season?

[tvp2003]

That was a depressing read.

I know there was significant turnover from 2021/22 to last year, but I wonder how much of this was masked in 2021/22 by the team's success. I'm a firmly believe that winning cures all, and we won a lot of games in 2021/22 which may have emboldened Sutter and contributed to how things transpired this year.

[Johnny Makarov]

I guess our one crack at the Cup was 2 years ago with Sutter. But then Markstrom, Hanifin, and Rasmus pretty quickly put an end to that against the Oilerz.

[Reggie Dunlop]

What a sad denouement to a once stellar reputation.

[Hoop27]

You'll have to forgive me if I wait to hear more than unnamed sources and a player that didn't have an issue with whatever allegedly happened before I even consider passing any sort of judgement let alone believing it.

[Sec214]

…Shouldn’t of Flinched and knocked the ol dog out with a quick left right hook and up upper cut.

Must of been a hell of a fight.

[Paulie Walnuts]

What a sad read.

Player coach physical altercations have happened before and it sucks one of the incidents happened on our team.

Anyone who watches Basketball probably remembers when Sam Mitchell made Rafer Alston cry and body slammed Vince Carter on a massage table.

Mental abuse by him is one thing and should not be tolerated at all, but physical abuse added is just not a good look and sours his reputation.

The fact he put fear into players maybe caused the player he had a altercation with to not say anything because he feared of the consequences from Sutter for doing so. Its often like that when someone is scared of someone.

Glad he is gone, hopefully all the people who came to defend him at all costs and called the players babies, millennials, cupcakes or whatever now realize what type of negative environment they dealt with, which was easy to see from the outside.

[DazzlinDino]

Backlund put himself out there for the team and was the buffer even though he wasn't the captain. Dispite that and the coments that certain players wanted to leave he still gave it his best effort on the ice.

[Paulie Walnuts]

I also found it to be interesting when Maloney said he talked to all the players, staff and a bunch of agents and took a lot of notes and debriefed Sutter on his finding and why he did things.

Sounds more like a investigation of a bunch of incidents opposed to an exit interview.

[Tbull8]

Stuff like that "altercation" is what I was referencing when I said they were sick of Sutter's antics. Heard about it earlier in the year

[taxbuster]

That is quite the read. Sad, if true, and most of it likely is as the play of the team reflects badly on him.

We move on, hopefully with a group that is highly team-focused and more thoughtfully approaching motivational methods.

[BigFlameDog]

I seriously doubt he is getting that full 4m a year....more like walk away and keep your pride money. Old school isn't the way anymore.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by BigFlameDog

I seriously doubt he is getting that full 4m a year....more like walk away and keep your pride money. Old school isn't the way anymore.

It depends on what the conditions are in his contract or if it guarantees that money regardless of performance.

Personally I think the biggest loss for the Flames is if the presence of Sutter played into both the decisions of Gaudreau and Tkachuk departing. Clearly at one point, they were both closer to 50/50 on their decisions but many factors pushed them over and Sutter may have been one of them.

[taxbuster]

Originally Posted by BigFlameDog

I seriously doubt he is getting that full 4m a year....more like walk away and keep your pride money. Old school isn't the way anymore.

LOL. Apparently you don't deal with contracts. Unless there is an abatement clause, he is getting his full due.

[taxbuster]

On reflection (and after my morning shower) my feeling on that is more sad than anything...sad that a man who was a legend of sorts in Calgary, and indeed in the NHL has "fallen", although in 20 years few will remember that part and he'll be recalled as a "tough coach" and that's all. Sad that the Flames management didn't right the ship when Sutter started to fall apart - either by convo with him or by moving him out THEN.

As to now: the players got their wish..."nice guys" everywhere. They damn well better play their asses off this year.

[Yeah_Baby]

Yeah, the whole thing just makes me sad.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by taxbuster

On reflection (and after my morning shower) my feeling on that is more sad than anything...sad that a man who was a legend of sorts in Calgary, and indeed in the NHL has "fallen", although in 20 years few will remember that part and he'll be recalled as a "tough coach" and that's all. Sad that the Flames management didn't right the ship when Sutter started to fall apart - either by convo with him or by moving him out THEN.

As to now: the players got their wish..."nice guys" everywhere. They damn well better play their asses off this year.

I don't think Sutter has fallen. Just the myth around him has. He is largely unchanged from the coach he has always been, look at the stories in the article about his behavior in LA.

His tactics have a small window if he has the right players and a star goalie (Kipper, Quick, Markstrom last year) and players that can take the beatings. Otherwise he's always been an angry, abusive coach to players and staff alike.