Comparing today’s roster to Darryl Sutter’s last roster as coach
By Ryan Pike
3 years agoIt’s a big day for the Calgary Flames! Darryl Sutter is back behind the bench for the club as they face the Montreal Canadiens. The last game he coached for the Flames was Game 7 of a first round loss to Anaheim way back on May 3, 2006.
Which roster would you rather have? Sutter’s from 2006 or Sutter’s from today?
Goaltenders
| 2006 | 2021 |
| Miikka Kiprusoff Brian Boucher | Jacob Markstrom David Rittich Louis Domingue (taxi) |
Edge: 2021. Kiprusoff is the best goalie of the bunch, easily, but we’d rather have Markstrom, Rittich o Domingue over 2006 Brian Boucher.
Defensemen
| 2006 | 2021 |
| Dion Phaneuf Roman Hamrlik Jordan Leopold Andrew Ference Robyn Regehr Rhett Warrener Bryan Marchment (extra) Cale Hulse (extra) Mark Giordano (extra) | Rasmus Andersson Mark Giordano Juuso Valimaki Chris Tanev Noah Hanifin Nikita Nesterov Michael Stone (taxi) Oliver Kylington (taxi) |
Edge: 2006. The 2021 Flames have a former Norris winner, but the depth in 2006 was something to behold. They had three strong pairings, while the 2021 Flames are a bit top-heavy.
Forwards
| 2006 | 2021 |
| Tony Amonte Stephane Yelle Jarome Iginla Byron Ritchie Shean Donovan Chris Simon Matthew Lombardi Chuck Kobasew Kristian Huselius Daymond Langkow Jamie Lundmark Darren McCarty Marcus Nilson (extra) Mike Leclerc (extra) Craig MacDonald (extra) | Derek Ryan Mikael Backlund Johnny Gaudreau Milan Lucic Matthew Tkachuk Sean Monahan Brett Ritchie Josh Leivo Elias Lindholm Dillon Dube Andrew Mangiapane Sam Bennett Joakim Nordstrom (extra) Dominik Simon (extra) Buddy Robinson (taxi) Zac Rinaldo (taxi) |
Edge: This is close, but a slight edge to 2021. The 2006 had Jarome Iginla, Daymond Langkow, and a bunch of role players. The 2021 team has more high-end players, more up-and-comers, and overall just a better mix of players.
Which roster would you rather have? Sound off in the comments!
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