He improved the talent of the team but eroded the asset base of the franchise by giving away good players for bad returns and an atrocious drafting record.
Darryl tried to do too much himself.
The only real change in approach to the draft since Sutter left has been “listen to Tod Button more”.
That’s all it took to be league-average.
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The only real change in approach to the draft since Sutter left has been “listen to Tod Button more”.
That’s all it took to be league-average.
I think it's more than that. It's the overall approach. Are you directing your scouting team to draft players likely to be NHLers, even if their ceilings are low, or are you asking them to draft players that have a chance to have an impact. Obviously not that binary, but what's that mix.
My view is that your draft should be all about upside. Any player your drafting you should be asking - can I see this player becoming a difference maker. That's how you draft Johnny Gaudreau or Kucherov. Even in the later rounds I'm not drafting guy who's ceiling is a 4th line grinder. Take big swings
And then what are you looking for in players. Skating? Hockey Sense? Character? In what priority.
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Wow, what a very unexpected turn of events after a 7-3 win. I’m never on the fire the coach bandwagon, but I guess when your team is built with a bunch of lazy players, sometimes you need a demanding, tough as nails coach who doesn’t accept lazy as an option. It’s funny, I recently watched a Kings game with Darryl Sutter and it a was pure defensive trap. Rewatched a game back in the 04 playoffs as well and the team hit everything that moved.
So not sure how much change to expect. But if work ethic is what evades this group, then they will be in for a rude awakening. No more country club games, no more dogging it, more accountability now. There’s no question Darryl has an aura about him, he casts a big shadow and he’s one of those rare coaches that can change a team’s identity overnight. In the short term, this will make the Flames one of the hardest working teams for the rest of the season. Long term, i’m not sure as his schtick does eventually wears out, so it’ll be interesting to see how it all unfolds.
Ah cool...Ray Edwards is a Peters/Ward guy is he not? I could see him going away
Ray Edwards is actually a Treliving guy, he used to be Phoenix' farm team coach when Treliving ran their farm team. Back when we hired Gulutzan, there was some speculation that Edwards would be our next head coach.
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I think there are a lot of people wondering how Gaudreau fits into a Darryl Sutter team.
I may be wrong, but I don't think that Sutter is going to change too much. Gaudreau's #1 job on this team will continue to be generating offence. That's the best thing that Gaudreau does as a player, and he is the best at it on this team.
I also don't think that Gaudreau has much of a GAF problem. When I see him play night in and night out, he always seems engaged. Sometimes things aren't working and he gets frustrated, but he seems like an engaged player most of the time. That's something Sutter demands all the time, and Gaudreau fits that.
How will his game really change here?
Think back to Hartley and to Peters. I remember in Gaudreau's first couple of years, I thought he was a sneaky 'Datsyuk-like' player in the way that he backchecks. That's how he is going to grow his game in Calgary again. Sutter isn't going to demand that he goes in hard against guys in the corner, and drops his mitts every 10 games. Sutter is going to demand that Gaudreau plays with a tonne of effort, and that he supports the team with great forechecking/backchecking pressure.
Gaudreau, IMO, is already fairly good at this. Sutter is just going to push a couple of buttons and Gaudreau will just do this more often with more resolve at doing it. Gaudreau will still be a high-scoring forward. Maybe not the 99 point player, but I also wouldn't rule that out.
The bigger question marks for me are Monahan and Lindholm, as well as Andersson and Kylington.
Monahan and Lindholm have been up and down. Sometimes really good, but often underwhelming at centre. Monahan was a solid 2-way centre under Hartley. Yeah, he was just starting his career, but he had effort in every zone. I think Darryl will help Monahan get there.
As for Lindholm - I don't have an explanation for why he is not really working at centre. I mean, he has nights where he seems like the defacto 1st line centre on this team, and then stretches where he seems invisible. I think Darryl will continue keeping him where he is though - don't think he is going to convert him to the wing.
Andersson is a guy I wonder about because he takes short-cuts. I notice him the most when the puck is being dumped into his corner as avoiding contact - not so much not willing to engage physically, but he is often not willing to take the hit to make the play. Yes, if you can avoid a hit, do it, as hits wear you down and impact your season. I am specifically referring to the times when Andersson CAN get to the puck first, but slows up and allows the forechecker to touch the puck first, and then he engages physically. Sometimes you just need to get to the puck first and move it, and take the hit while doing so. Stuff like that. I wonder if Darryl is going to keep all the pairings together, and what an impact he will have on them. I like Andersson, but I notice some of the bad tendencies that he has. I think he still has another level of upside to his game, and I think with Sutter, he is more likely to get there now. Don't misunderstand me - I love Andersson. He is already a very good player for Calgary, and I bet that he will get even better.
Kylington is the other guy. I don't see him being out-muscled all that often (kid is stronger than he looks).
I think what is wrong with Kylington is kind of the same issue as what is wrong with Bennett - mixed messaging. I think they will both benefit from a coach who tells them exactly what they need to improve on, how to improve on it, and will not allow them to be confused about it. When Bennett was scratched, remember what he said? "Maybe playing games." - now that is not an answer I want to hear from a player - that's not a 'character response' from a player in the first place, and Bennett deserves criticism for it. However, the bigger issue is that it seems that Bennett wasn't getting the message. Perhaps it was never conveyed to him on what exactly he needs to work on, or maybe he has been getting mixed-messaging.
Sutter is good at saying exactly what he means. Maybe that's what Bennett needs. Maybe it works out for Bennett, and maybe it won't. There are no guarantees that Sutter will like him. Bennett does make some terrible decisions at times, and his effort on the backcheck isn't always 100% (though he has made some fricken amazing efforts on saving goals that nobody seems to talk about much). I think this is as good a chance as any that Bennett will turn his game around, but it is not guaranteed. I look forward to seeing what happens there.
Kylington is in the same boat. This kid can skate, defend well, move the puck quickly, and shoots the puck like a beast (such an underrated wrister and slapper). Bingo was right in that he seems to pause with the puck a lot. I see Bennett doing this too. I think it is confidence and doing thing that aren't second nature. Darryl helps with this. Maybe he won't like Kylington and he will be expendable, as perhaps this 'freeze' he has at times is something you can't correct. I do think this is a really great shot for Kylington to become a regular NHL'er now.
This team has looked disjointed for a few seasons now. They started looking disjointed when the goalies couldn't make saves under Hartley. Then they looked disjointed for most of the time under Gulutzan. They looked like a machine mostly under Peters for a while, and then it just disappeared somehow. They have looked completely disorganized under Ward.
I think it will take a couple of weeks - and I hope that the Flames win more than they lose until then, and often the energy of the change gives an artificial uptick in performance, so here's hoping! - but I bet this team starts figuring it out.
I really believe in this team still. I still wish Brodie was here too, but Tanev has been really good and I think he will continue to be really good. I am glad that this change has been made before the core players were getting replaced. Gaudreau may or may not be the most purely skilled player that the Flames have ever had, but he is in the top 5 at least. Monahan is an exceptional finisher. I can go on through the list..
This team is a lot better than what their record indicated. What their record indicated was that they are who they are - an under-performing team. Sutter will get them back to performing for sure, and it wouldn't surprise me to see them out-performing expectations in time.
He mentioned strength down the middle several times as one of the reasons he took the job so I guess he thinks he has something to work with in Monahan and the rest. We’ve seen how good these players can each be at their best. At the risk of inflating the myth of Sutter I feel like he gets players playing closer to their best more often than not.
It won't be easy. The other teams will be gaining points. They have games left with OTT and VAN. Three point O/T games. It is a deep hole, but there is time to get out of it.
I look at them needing 62 points.
What does the snek say?
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I hope Gaudreau is prepared to be called a p#### if and when he does his frustration / invisibility stunt.
His composure has been better this season no question, but his mettle will be tested under Sutter when those moments of adversity happen, and in the end he'll be better for it. Team needs mental toughness from its stars to succeed.
He improved the talent of the team but eroded the asset base of the franchise by giving away good players for bad returns and an atrocious drafting record.
It was pretty clear about the time period being referred to and not his whole tenure. And his first two plus years were incredible.
I hope Gaudreau is prepared to be called a p#### if and when he does his frustration / invisibility stunt.
His composure has been better this season no question, but his mettle will be tested under Sutter when those moments of adversity happen, and in the end he'll be better for it. Team needs mental toughness from its stars to succeed.
Surprisingly, Darryl has coached Johnny in the past. I mean, it was an all star game, but he knows how talented Gaudreau is. I mean heck, Johnny was huge in eliminating Darryl’s team from the 2015 playoffs. I think he knows what to expect from Johnny.
As you said, Darryl can be tough. I remember him being tough on his stars. If I’m not mistaken, I think he called out Leopold for not producing as an offensive defensemen. So I guess we will see what Johnny is ultimately made of. He did pretty well under hard ass Hartley. So maybe this could bring out the best in Johnny.
It was pretty clear about the time period being referred to and not his whole tenure. And his first two plus years were incredible.
Not his drafting. In his first four years as GM the only players of note drafted by the Flames were Dion Phaneuf, Brandon Prust, Adam Pardy and Adam Cracknell.
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Ray Edwards is actually a Treliving guy, he used to be Phoenix' farm team coach when Treliving ran their farm team. Back when we hired Gulutzan, there was some speculation that Edwards would be our next head coach.
Of course he was. Coached in minors, Tre’s buddy, no ones ever heard his name connected to a head coach position in the bigs. Perfect criteria for Tre to pick him as the Calgary Flames new head coach.
My favorite line from the presser today, and I'm paraphrasing, but in response to one of the questions about expectations for the rest of the season Sutter said something like: understanding the price that it takes and the commitment that it takes to win
This is one of those moves that makes everything feel right again. Can't wait to see how the rest of the plays out.
Also liked how Sutter talked about the talent that's on the team. I know he wouldn't say otherwise, but you genuinely get the impression that he thinks a lot of the necessary pieces are in place.
