[News] Flames presser 12pm MT. Re: Hockey Operations personnel

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by CFO

He was a guest speaker at a function. Tonight.

What did he say

[Johnny Makarov]

Originally Posted by CFO

Holy. Eric Francis just ripped apart sutter

Bet you he will never say what he said tonight to Sutter's face! lol (i don't know what he said)

Someone should rip Eric on his terrible takes on Gaudreau and running him out of town the previous 7 years.....

[All In Good Time]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

Bet you he will never say what he said tonight to Sutter's face! lol (i don't know what he said)

Someone should rip Eric on his terrible takes on Gaudreau and running him out of town the previous 7 years.....

Spector south

[topfiverecords]

[browna]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

Bet you he will never say what he said tonight to Sutter's face! lol (i don't know what he said)

Someone should rip Eric on his terrible takes on Gaudreau and running him out of town the previous 7 years.....

Whatever to takes for him to feel good about himself and continue his flailing brand as an insider... as a guy who knows secrets and now can reveal them to anyone since the big bad mean guy is gone, and at a private function he's protected.. But yeah, pumping himself up where he wouldn't say the same thing in the same tone in public.

Given an article a day from Valji on Conroy since being hired, looks like he's trying to suck up to the new GM...not for "the public wants to know and it's my job as a journalist" but more for "my bosses in Toronto will give me a raise if I get on the inside becuase I couldn't under Treliving or Sutter".

[Paulie Walnuts]

Ryan Leslie on the radio pretty much said the players told him and he himself and the media felt a dark cloud coming to the rink with Sutter. Wasn't a fun place to be.

Francis and Salam are losers but when you have almost a unified opinion on what happened let's stop the bs. Something was up with him.

[CFO]

Originally Posted by kyuss275

What did he say

Essentially Sutter is a good xx oo coach but last two years went on a huge power trip. No fun at rink. Players and staff hated and feared him. The Huberdeau poop break was hated by players. The small jabs hated. Half players on exit interviews ripped apart Sutter. 7 players in next 1-2 years said will not be back. Sutter didn't assign a captain so he could retain power. Trelieving quit on team because of Sutter. Markstrom was extremely fragile mentally. Says with new gm and coach believes all players will rebound including goalie.

Fast forward. Conroy gm hire was a breath of fresh air. Some players feel better now. Lindholm and hanafin probably won't be back/resign due to Sutter damage. Talked about advantage in places like Florida. Matthew had ex flames over during year for a BBQ. Jet ski etc. Big life style changes.

[MrMike]

I figured Sutter didn’t name a captain because he thought of himself as the captain.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by MrMike

I figured Sutter didn’t name a captain because he thought of himself as the captain.

Pretty much he needed to be the captain the whole show if we won he takes the glory.

So happy to move on.

[browna]

Originally Posted by CFO

Essentially Sutter is a good xx oo coach but last two years went on a huge power trip. No fun at rink. Players and staff hated and feared him. The Huberdeau poop break was hated by players. The small jabs hated. Half players on exit interviews ripped apart Sutter. 7 players in next 1-2 years said will not be back. Sutter didn't assign a captain so he could retain power. Trelieving quit on team because of Sutter. Markstrom was extremely fragile mentally. Says with new gm and coach believes all players will rebound including goalie.

Fast forward. Conroy gm hire was a breath of fresh air. Some players feel better now. Lindholm and hanafin probably won't be back/resign due to Sutter damage. Talked about advantage in places like Florida. Matthew had ex flames over during year for a BBQ. Jet ski etc. Big life style changes.

Well, that’s one opinion. An opinion from a guy who battled Sutter weekly because Sutter didn’t play nice with him or give him the inside scoop that Francis feels entitled to.

“Half the team wanted him gone”, what about the other half? Guys like Toffoli and Zadorov, to name a few. He’s always pushed buttons, here when he coached the first time, whether it be a poop break comment or something internally, but has gotten results.

If the Flames made the playoffs and made some hay, does the end justify the means? It has before, here and LA and SJ.

Captain, old school and he didn’t see captain material, which is always been a full time player, that plays the way he sees a captain should play. Iginla here, Dustin Brown in LA. Lucic and Lewis aren’t captains, not full time impact players. Backlund doesn’t play the prototypical Sutter style, and even if he was considering it, him campaigning to be captain hurt his chances, not helped it. Tanev wasn’t a Flame long enough, but I figured he’d have been Sutter’s natural choice….but the decision to not have one can take many more reasons from the stretch of logic of the opinion of Sutter hoarding control out of rage or jealousy or whatever he’s getting at.

Sutter damage to Hanifin and Lindholm? More likely due to linemates (Lindholm) and American teammates (Hanifin), seeing MT and JG depart and cash in last year, more than Sutter hurting their feelings.

He’s gone and that’s the decision made; it’s easier to push out a coach then 6 or 7 players unhappy about a bad season and the Flames stepped up to pay him out. And sure, his Jack Adams last year allowed him to justify his methods (despite all this behind the scenes stuff, with average goaltending and not having the worst overtime record in the league, the team makes the playoffs) but Francis is grandstanding for a captive audience.

The other time the team (many of them still here) felt relief and breath of fresh air was when Peters was fired and were all happy when Ward came in and the was kept. Players wasted little time after a terribly coached and played game 6 loss to Dallas, in seizing control of the room away from the coach and wasting a window season…let’s hope that doesn’t happen again, especially with a seemingly happy go lucky GM still feeling his way around being in charge as well.

[CFO]

For above - I think there is two era of Sutter. Sutter from early Calgary and LA. Hard coach but good. And fast forward to his most recent stint. Gone overboard. Maybe it's an age thing.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Ryan Leslie also said some of the same things so it's not Francis spewing his usual bs.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Ryan Leslie also said some of the same things so it's not Francis spewing his usual bs.

At this point it can't even be disputed that Sutter not only lost not only the locker room but a good portion of the organization this year. It's why he's no longer employed by the Flames. Conny even made comments in his introductory speech about the new head coach working with him as a team and not individuals which was a subtle shot at Sutter. The only people at this point defending Sutter are his fans and that's perfectly fine. He's done a lot of good for the organization over the decades but him going out this way was all his own doing.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Ryan Leslie also said some of the same things so it's not Francis spewing his usual bs.

Ryan Leslie just regurgitates what Eric Francis says, he has for years. There is no bigger fanboy of Eric Francis than Ryan Leslie.

[Ashasx]

Hearing the players upset is one thing, but when even other coaches and general Saddledome staff felt the same way about Darryl, he took it too far.

He may literally still be the best coach in Flames history, but that doesn't excuse you from being an absolute #######.

[AndyM]

Originally Posted by browna

Whatever to takes for him to feel good about himself and continue his flailing brand as an insider... as a guy who knows secrets and now can reveal them to anyone since the big bad mean guy is gone, and at a private function he's protected.. But yeah, pumping himself up where he wouldn't say the same thing in the same tone in public.

This seems classless by Eric Francis. Understandably he will be asked to spill some tea and share what it's like being a sports journalist in Calgary, but to drop so many names and stories to keep his anti-Sutter narrative going is crappy. It's about approach. You can just picture him telling these stories with a gleam in his eye and a smirk on his face. Ryan Leslie certainly wouldn't go about doing it the same way.

I certainly hope Conroy doesn't give Francis the cold shoulder at some point because Francis will start throwing junk out about him too.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by browna

Well, that’s one opinion. An opinion from a guy who battled Sutter weekly because Sutter didn’t play nice with him or give him the inside scoop that Francis feels entitled to.

“Half the team wanted him gone”, what about the other half? Guys like Toffoli and Zadorov, to name a few. He’s always pushed buttons, here when he coached the first time, whether it be a poop break comment or something internally, but has gotten results.

If the Flames made the playoffs and made some hay, does the end justify the means? It has before, here and LA and SJ.

Captain, old school and he didn’t see captain material, which is always been a full time player, that plays the way he sees a captain should play. Iginla here, Dustin Brown in LA. Lucic and Lewis aren’t captains, not full time impact players. Backlund doesn’t play the prototypical Sutter style, and even if he was considering it, him campaigning to be captain hurt his chances, not helped it. Tanev wasn’t a Flame long enough, but I figured he’d have been Sutter’s natural choice….but the decision to not have one can take many more reasons from the stretch of logic of the opinion of Sutter hoarding control out of rage or jealousy or whatever he’s getting at.

Sutter damage to Hanifin and Lindholm? More likely due to linemates (Lindholm) and American teammates (Hanifin), seeing MT and JG depart and cash in last year, more than Sutter hurting their feelings.

He’s gone and that’s the decision made; it’s easier to push out a coach then 6 or 7 players unhappy about a bad season and the Flames stepped up to pay him out. And sure, his Jack Adams last year allowed him to justify his methods (despite all this behind the scenes stuff, with average goaltending and not having the worst overtime record in the league, the team makes the playoffs) but Francis is grandstanding for a captive audience.

The other time the team (many of them still here) felt relief and breath of fresh air was when Peters was fired and were all happy when Ward came in and the was kept. Players wasted little time after a terribly coached and played game 6 loss to Dallas, in seizing control of the room away from the coach and wasting a window season…let’s hope that doesn’t happen again, especially with a seemingly happy go lucky GM still feeling his way around being in charge as well.

That was a wild read


Half the team hating the coach / what about the other half?
You don’t see a problem there?


Not naming a captain because of “rage or jealousy”?
That is just odd to read because nobody thinks that.
It’s simple. No single player empowered to advocate for the team. It’s a power play.
That was a problem And Conroy said the team would have a captain and it was necessary


As for Lindholm, we will see. No matter who they bring in, the fact is that it could be too little, too late. The organization could have simply tolerated Sutter’s behaviour too long, and if Brad didn’t bail, they may be in for another year of it

Stating that 7 guys on exit interviews said they wouldn’t return is “one opinion”

Maybe Francis was actually simply relaying accurate information

[bluejays]

I have no problem with Francis saying his piece. Sometimes in North America everyone plays politically correct to shut up. If Sutter was being terrible to everyone around him, that nonsense should’ve been called out earlier. Instead the keep it in the room crowd and the cowards in the media kept it under wraps. If he was as bad as he’s made out to be I have no problem with the trashing after the fact especially when Francis did some of it during the season. I keep saying, Salim and Francis seem to be the only ones in local media who have balls to call it as is. The rest are just corporate bums who will play politically nice to keep their jobs.

[All In Good Time]

Originally Posted by CFO

Holy. Eric Francis just ripped apart sutter

Meh
Francis is just getting his digs in, he sounds jilted/bitter to me.
He will start bashing Conroy and the new coach as soon as he finds out they won’t tell him anything either. Its what he does, it’s all he’s got.

He spent the last half of the season saying “OH!!!! I have a story to tell you all but I won’t write it now.” Since then, he hasn’t offered anything that is beyond what anyone else has reported first anyway.

I mean, really what’s the point of that speech last night?
The guy got fired, he’s gone, what more do you want?
The fact is, it’s a new start on many levels. It even sounds like there’s a good chance that the some, if not most of the unhappy players from the end of last year will be gone anyway. There will be a new coach, everyone will start having fun and winning now.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by All In Good Time

Meh
Francis is just getting his digs in, he sounds jilted/bitter to me.
He will start bashing Conroy and the new coach as soon as he finds out they won’t tell him anything either. Its what he does, it’s all he’s got.

He spent the last half of the season saying “OH!!!! I have a story to tell you all but I won’t write it now.” Since then, he hasn’t offered anything that is beyond what anyone else has reported first anyway.

I mean, really what’s the point of that speech last night?
The guy got fired, he’s gone, what more do you want?
The fact is, it’s a new start on many levels. It even sounds like there’s a good chance that the some, if not most of the unhappy players from the end of last year will be gone anyway. There will be a new coach, everyone will start having fun and winning now.

So a guy who reports on the Flames is engaged as a speaker at an event, in the aftermath of a wildly unexpected season and very controversial house cleaning (spending 8 m for the guy not to coach), and you want him to, what, show pictures of his dog?