from Rick Bell of the Calgary Sun,
The underperforming hometown hockey team, the couldn’t-make-the-playoffs hometown hockey team, the hometown hockey team where much was expected and much less was delivered and more than a few players were clearly not pulling their weight.
They get their wish.
Darryl Sutter is out as coach. The snowflakes on this hockey team manage to win one, off the ice.
This Maloney guy makes it pretty plain what went down.
Players got to say their piece. So did prominent agents representing key players. They provided pieces in the puzzle leading to the inevitable answer.
Sutter was not who they wanted. Sutter’s time had expired with the Flames. They wanted a new voice.
Maloney acknowledges Sutter is a firm coach, a hard coach, a demanding coach and a very good coach.
There was a time when being firm and hard and demanding and very good was a fine way to be as a coach.
That idiot thought it was a good idea to publicly release that article? All of the cringey buzzwords and phrases he could pack in there.
First off, the NHL closed locker rooms aren't as closed as they used to be because in large part social media and players media presences. They don't need that intermediary to filter what they want out. So not reporting it wouldn't have stopped it from coming out.
Secondly, the NHL (and all sports) takes mental and physical health of players MUCH, MUCH more seriously these days. The days of suck it up and take it are long gone.
Thirdly, there are 3 guys on Calgary with long term contracts that aren't going anywhere unless multiple 1st round picks were attached to the deal: Kadri, Huberdeau, and Weegar. So if it comes down to them or the coach. That coach is going. A GM with extreme tenure can get away with ignoring it. But given how owners turn over GM's these days--it's not the wisest of moves and will undoubtedly mean that GM is going to be shown the door shortly.
The Wings had something similar towards Babcock's final years. It was reported by TSN.
This was backed up by Chelios during a Spittin' Chiclets podcast:
According to Chelios, no veterans on the team which included Red Wings legends Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg confronted Babcock about this behavior and that when general manager Ken Holland was alerted of the incident, he stood behind his head coach.
The podcasters Barstool Sports blogger Rear Admiral and former NHLers Ryan Whitney and Paul Bissonnette said that Chelios reached out to them in the wake of Babcock's firing.
And look how that turned out. Babcock's still banished from the NHL. He was known as that old school, firm, demanding, and good coach too.
Create an Account
In order to leave a comment, please create an account.