Darryl Sutter’s mission wasn’t simply to return the Calgary Flames to the playoffs, to restore a reputation as a hard-working and hard-to-score-against bunch.
When he was hired for a second stint at the Saddledome, he talked of “unfinished business.” The job isn’t done yet, and Sutter wants to see it through.
The Flames announced Saturday that the reigning Jack Adams Award winner has signed a two-year extension. His current deal was set to run out at the end of this season, so he’s now under contract through the end of 2024-25.
“I felt really obligated to Brad (Treliving) in this,” Sutter said. “When I came here, the promise I made is we were going to get this straightened back out again. And it’s not just a straighten-out-one-year thing. It’s the long haul.
“All these things that are said from the outside, from all over the place, from people who don’t watch us, stuff like that … They can have all the opinions and predictions they want. But in order to become a legitimate contender, you have to do it over and over and over to get there. The way you do that is you have to build it and you have to establish an identity or a style of play or a core group of players that are committed to the long-term. All those things are involved in it, and I think in some ways I feel like I have a responsibility to be a steward in that.”
With the 2022-23 campaign starting later this week, many fans and pundits figure the Flames have a serious shot at a title.
That has a lot to do with Treliving’s off-season additions, a list that is headlined by Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and MacKenzie Weegar.
But arguably the biggest reason to believe is the presence of Sutter as bench boss and button-pusher. The 64-year-old is known for his demanding style, his defence-first structure and his straight-to-the-point soundbites. He has a knack for getting the most out of a group, for pushing individual players to reach their full potential.
Sutter already has his name engraved twice on the Stanley Cup. He guided the Los Angeles Kings to a pair of champagne celebrations in a three-year span from 2012-14 and is now aiming to complete his hat-trick. (The Flames faithful don’t need to be reminded of a close-call in 2004, when the Jolly Rancher coached a hard-hatted crew to within a whisker of completing an improbable run.)
Treliving and Sutter were talking contract throughout the summer. According to the general manager, an extension was “a no-brainer.”
“I think he’s one of the best coaches in the game here today and, as I’ve said many times, I think he has had and continues to have a Hall of Fame career,” Treliving said. “The structure that he puts in place, his ability to drive teams, it was a natural.
“I said it the day we brought him in — structure and accountability are the two things that, to me, are calling cards of Darryl. It’s the structure in which his team plays and then the accountability to the team, the accountability to the individual. And then he has the ability to maximize players’ abilities. He’s done it in every place he’s been. He’s done it throughout his career. To me, your team takes on the personality of your coach, and I think our team has done that.”
Sutter led the Flames last season to a 50-21-11 record — the second-highest point total in franchise history — and to top seed in the Pacific Division. The locals advanced to the second round of the playoffs before being eliminated by the arch-rival Edmonton Oilers.
With his first triumph of this fall, preferably in Thursday’s home-opener against the Colorado Avalanche, Sutter will become just the 11th skipper in league lore to notch 700 regular-season victories. He’ll soon become the Flames’ all-time winningest coach, too. (He needs 21 more to match Mr. It’s a Great Day for Hockey, Bob Johnson.)
Asked Saturday about the appeal of extending his stay at the Saddledome, Sutter replied: “It’s still the basis of what I said when I came here — good team, good city, good owners. It wasn’t that hard.”
The hard part starts Thursday.
Sutter will talk for the next six months about the initial goal — earning an invite to the post-season. Once accomplished, the objective is to win a round, and then another, and another. You won’t hear him pontificating about championship parades, but that is the unfinished business that brought him back to Calgary and will continue to keep him here.
“I really like our team,” Sutter said after Saturday’s announcement. “We brought in really good people. I break it into three groups all the time — good people, good teammates, good competitors. That’s how it works, and you have to check all three boxes. Very simple.
“It doesn’t matter what walk of life you’re in — if you do those three things, then you’re on the right track. It doesn’t mean you’ll always win or always lose. It doesn’t mean any of that. It just means you check those boxes and you’re doing the right things. And then you can always be chest out and chin up.”
ICE CHIPS: Claimed earlier this week from the Pittsburgh Penguins, forward Radim Zohorna was back on the waiver-wire Saturday. The Flames also exposed defencemen Juuso Valimaki — their first-round draft pick in 2017 — and Dennis Gilbert. All three need to clear waivers before they could be assigned to the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers.
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