CALGARY — To say it was about time the Calgary Flames fired Darryl Sutter would be wrong.
This should have happened several weeks earlier, as it would have saved the club from having to search for a new general manager to replace Brad Treliving.
Instead, history will show Monday’s firing as Treliving’s final stamp on the Calgary Flames.
His decision to fall on the sword two weeks ago due to professional differences with Sutter prompted ownership and hockey president Don Maloney to realize just how toxic an environment Sutter had created.
That, combined with some explosive exit interviews with players, and pointed conversations with coaches and player agents, made it clear the Flames needed a new coach.
The players simply hated going to the rink, where Sutter liked it being tense, heavy and unpredictable.
Sutter built a culture of fear, as he felt it helped him become one of the best coaches of an era.
No coach prepares players as well as Sutter, few work a bench as brilliantly as he does, and his forechecking mentality was, in fact, the best way for this team to play.
However, his tear-em-down, build-em-back-up approach sucked the love of the game out of many players, including franchise cornerstones Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri.
Sutter has changed in some ways, but not as a manager of people, which was his undoing.
His disrespect for the media has been a source of great entertainment for many, but it also gave people a glimpse into how he treats others while in coach mode.
That point was hammered home after Jakob Pelletier’s NHL debut, when Sutter dismissed the obvious excitement of the afternoon with a staged routine, asking what number the young man wore, before reading out his stats.
His petty response was designed to spit in the faces of journalists who had been clamouring for Pelletier’s debut.
Instead, he embarrassed a young man who had done everything the organization had asked of him.
It marked the turning point in Sutter’s popularity.
The kid deserved better, as did an organization that was so furious at Sutter’s conduct that a stern talking-to was followed up by president John Bean’s attendance at Sutter’s next media availability.
He was on notice.
From that point on it was almost comical how over the top he was when asked about young players.
However, the damage was done.
Agents around the league saw his antics and were aware of the power struggle that saw Sutter refuse to play call-ups despite the GM’s request to see what they had in young players like Matthew Phillips, Walker Duehr and Pelletier.
It hurt the organization’s chances of signing any young college or junior hotshots this spring.
He had too much power.
The wins couldn’t be savoured, the losses became unbearable.
The cost of having Sutter at the helm was already steep.
Consider: Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk were both destined to move south long before the coach arrived, but Sutter’s extension last summer clinched their decisions.
Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund both made it clear last month that they plan to explore greener pastures next year, a sentiment openly discussed by a group of players all season long who feel the same way.
Backlund left a sliver of hope by saying he wanted to see what the organization does.
On Monday they did the right thing by eating the two-year, more than $8 million extension Sutter inked last summer as coach of the year.
It opens the door for a fresh new start for a team with some good pieces in place and some promising youngsters poised to break through.
Perhaps now Phillips will consider re-signing with the team.
Youngsters may finally get that chance under a new coach who, unlike Sutter, will be amenable and understanding of the youth movement crucial to modern-day NHL success.
“Darryl is a very sharp man, he’s got a good hockey mind,” said Maloney, who spent two-and-a-half hours debriefing Sutter after the season.
“In today’s world he’s a firm coach, a hard coach, a demanding coach — there’s a shelf life to that type of coaching.”
Staffers were scared of Sutter, many players abhorred him.
Coaches don’t have to be liked, they have to be respected.
Too many Flames couldn’t do that, prompting many of them to do what a previous generation of players never would have — speak up.
They weren’t being soft, they were being honest about how untenable things were at the Dome, which helps explain why a team so talented and deep could miss the playoffs.
“This is an exciting time for us to say, ‘hey, we’re coming in fresh and new’ and we’re going to bring energy and excitement to the building, including the locker room,” said Maloney, who is doing the right thing by giving the incoming GM a chance to hire his own coach.
“The first step is to get a manager.
“A manager has the vision of how we need to play to be a champion and what we need to be a champion, and that comes down to the coach and finding the coach that’s going to fit that vision.
“You have to look at our personnel, who we have. I still think with our group we’re in a window here where we can win something. This isn’t a team that’s going to start selling off assets, at least in my opinion. We think we have a good group here. We certainly feel like we have enough here to be a playoff team, and if we do a good job in the summer and fall and winter, we’ll be better positioned to be a playoff team next spring.”
As internal candidates like Craig Conroy and Brad Pascall would know, any youth movement will have to be slowly integrated.
They’d also be well aware three worthy coaching candidates are also on staff in Ryan Huska, Kirk Muller and the Wranglers’ two-time AHL coach of the year, Mitch Love.
And no, now that the coaching job is vacant, Maloney confirmed he won’t consider asking Treliving to reconsider.
“I don’t believe so,” he said.
“I think we’re moving forward with a new voice and a new vision. I’m excited about it. I think it’s going to be good for Calgary hockey.”
NOTES: An online news story suggesting the Flames ownership group was planning to sell to a local group was debunked by majority owner Murray Edwards when I contacted him over the weekend.
“News to me,” said Edwards.
“No one is talking about selling.”
Maloney also revealed during his press conference that Oliver Kylington had informed him he plans to return to playing with the Flames next season.
