from Eric Francis of Sportsnet,

Minutes after Thursday’s post-game press release announced Darryl Sutter was returning to coach the Calgary Flames, a front office source succinctly summed up the rationale.

“This group needs a wake-up,” he said.

Not many GMs get to go through four coaches in less than seven years. Then again, not many GMs have overseen a group of players as temperamental as these Flames.

Just a few days after Milan Lucic made an emphatic case for not blaming coach Geoff Ward for the team’s latest woes, Brad Treliving relieved him of his duties.

He did so less than an hour after the Flames pieced together a 7-3 win over Ottawa that married execution with work ethic and accountability.

Those last two traits have been absent for an alarming number of Flames games this year, opening the door for a man whose career has revolved around both. As a player, coach and GM, Darryl Sutter has seen hard work and accountability as the backbone of his success in hockey.

The man who guided Calgary to within two goals of a Stanley Cup in 2004, is back. Boy, is this group in for a rude awakening.

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