The Calgary Flames have fired head coach Darryl Sutter after the club missed the playoffs this season, the team confirmed in a statement on Monday.
When the Flames announced they had parted ways with general manager Brad Treliving in mid-April, new president of hockey operations Don Maloney said he would review all aspects of the hockey operation — including coaching.
“On behalf of ownership and all Calgary Flames fans, we want to thank Darryl for his cumulative years of service to the Calgary Flames and to the community at large,” said CSEC President and CEO, John Bean.
Sutter never held a post-season news conference, leading to speculation that his job could be in jeopardy.
Sportsnet’s Eric Francis has reported that several key players made it clear in their exit interviews with Maloney and Treliving that the environment in which they were working was untenable.
“I interviewed 25 players, coaching staff, spoke to prominent agents who represent key players on our team,” Maloney said in a press conference Monday afternoon. “It became clear to me that we needed a new voice to guide us.”
“It’s an exciting time, we have a good team, we have good players,” he added, reaffirming his belief in the club despite a disappointing season.
Throughout the press conference, Maloney reiterated that Sutter’s abrasive style, while often conducive to results, had begun to wear thin with his roster.
Combined with an apparent unwillingness to give much runway to Calgary’s promising youth, including former first-round pick Jakob Pelletier and AHL standouts Matthew Phillips and Dustin Wolf, it became evident that a change needed to be made.
“He’s a firm coach, he’s a hard coach. Demanding coach,” the longtime NHL executive said. “But there’s a shelf-life to that type of coaching, but obviously I felt that his time had expired with us.”
Maloney also outlined the process the Flames intend to take throughout this off-season as they restructure their team. With the team’s general manager position remaining unoccupied following the departure of Brad Treliving last month, it appears as though Calgary will seek to fill that vacancy first, then have that person decide on the team’s next bench boss.
Sutter signed a two-year extension with the club after winning the Jack Adams Award last season as NHL coach of the year, having guided the team to the Pacific Division regular-season title.
But the Flames did not meet expectations this year after a busy off-season in which Treliving brought in players like Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and Mackenzie Weegar, while moving on from long-time stars Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk.
“We underachieved. Generally, underachieving doesn’t make for happy days,” Maloney said in response to concerns regarding the team’s culture and high turnover since Gaudreau fled for Columbus last July. “But we’re optimistic when we hire the next manager and coach we’ll have a new attitude in the sense that it’s a new beginning for a lot of players.”
“As much as this is saying goodbye to a very good coach and a good person, this is also an exciting time for us to say ‘Hey, we’re coming in fresh.’”
The Flames finished two points out of a playoff spot, losing out to the Winnipeg Jets.
Sutter was hired by the Flames for his second go-around with Calgary during the 2020-21 season after the club fired Geoff Ward.
Sutter guided the Los Angeles Kings to Stanley Cup wins in 2012 and ’14.
