Darryl Sutter
The Flames got a new head coach. Is this the saving grace of the team? My thoughts:
Wowzers!! Bonkers!! A lot of words to describe the big news coming out of Calgary last night!
After a 7-3 whopping of the Ottawa Senators, everyone on Twitter seemed to be settling down for the night.
And then. Utter shock and chaos!
News came out that Geoff Ward, the Flames interm coach last season and head coach this season, has been let go of this duties.
Assuming the head coaching duties of the Calgary Flames, Darryl Sutter!
That is a name that resonates with every Flames fan to some degree. Anyone remember the glorious ‘04 run? Guess who was behind the bench? Darryl Sutter!
Sutter was named head coach of this team on December 28th, 2002, and later named General Manager in 2003 as well. In 2006, Darryl Sutter stepped down from his coaching duties to fully commit to the role of GM. In 2010, Sutter stepped down from GM of the Flames.
Fast forward to the 2011-2012 season.
The underachieving Los Angeles Kings get off to a rough start. Head coach Terry Murray is fired mid-season, and is replaced by Darryl Sutter.
After being named coach, Darryl leads the Kings to a 25-13-11 record, saving the Kings season. With this record, the Kings land at the 8th seed in the Western Conference, the final playoff spot available. This underdog Kings team goes on a magical run, and win the 2012 Stanley Cup! Sutter also won the Stanley Cup again in 2014 with the Kings.
Could the same thing happen 10 years later?
Resemblances can be seen between the 2011-2012 LA Kings and the 2020-2021 Calgary Flames.
Both teams had rough starts to the season, and now have both made a coaching change mid-season, bringing in Darryl Sutter.
And now, we will see if the Flames can continue in the pathway of the 2011-2012 LA Kings.
If there is a guy that can turn this mediocre Flames team around, it is the hard nosed Darryl Sutter. This team has played well with harder coaches, like Hartley and Peters, so now the hope is that this team can turn it around under Sutter.
As of the day I am writing this, the Flames sit four points behind the Oilers with a game at hand. A win over the Oilers tomorrow night means the team is two points behind them with a game at hand!
If this Flames team can turn it around under Darryl Sutter and make the playoffs, anything can happen, like we saw with the 2011-2012 LA Kings! Could the Flames follow in their footsteps and win a Stanley Cup under Sutter, like the Kings? Only time will tell!
Darryl is expected to make his coaching debut next Thursday, March 11th, against the Montreal Canadiens.
Darryl Sutter is back. And he is back in a big way! The iconic Albertan signed a three year contract with the Flames, running the rest of this year and two more years after this one!
Thanks for reading, and have a Blasty Day!
-James Johnson (@JamesJohnsonYYC on Twitter)