How did a once promising Calgary Flames season go off the rails? A deeper look at the Darryl Sutter era, and what comes next in Calgary Story w/ @hailey_salvian and @KatieJStrang theathletic.com/4614335/2023/0…
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The Athletic did a deep dive into Darryl Sutter’s decline
Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
It’s safe to say that the 2022-23 season didn’t go according to plan for the Calgary Flames. A lot went wrong, with a lot of fingers being pointed at the performance and conduct of since-fired head coach Darryl Sutter.
Over at The Athletic, Katie Strang, Julian McKenzie and Hailey Salvian teamed up for a pretty in-depth rundown of what precisely went wrong with Sutter during the 2022-23 season. (Spoiler: A lot.)
While the story is almost like a Greatest Hits album of cringey Sutter moments from throughout the season, it’s definitely worth your time (and money) because much like a good Greatest Hits compilation, it includes some fascinating new material, including some behind-the-scenes perspectives.
Remember that time that Sutter responded to a question from a FlamesNation reporter about a potential Jonathan Huberdeau injury by commenting “I think he had to go take a shit”?
Remember that time that Sutter pretended he didn’t know what Jakob Pelletier’s number was, just moments after Pelletier had made his NHL debut?
We don’t want to quote too much, because the whole thing is worth diving into. But here’s a short appetizer:
He made derisive comments, both publicly and privately, seemingly to single out players and in some cases, to embarrass them. In November, the franchise launched an internal investigation to probe an incident after Sutter allegedly made physical contact with a player on the bench during a game. Sutter’s relationship with general manager Brad Treliving, who brought Sutter to Calgary in 2021, reportedly deteriorated to the point that it played a role in Treliving’s decision to leave the organization after the season concluded.
Head on over to The Athletic to check the whole thing out. (We know it’s paywalled, but it’s quality stuff.)
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