from Eric Francis of Sportsnet,

The coach pretended he hadn’t heard about the tweet.

The player pretended he wasn’t privy to it until the next morning.

We can all pretend none of it matters.

But it does.

Frustration and denials abound at the Saddledome where the team’s unexpected on-ice struggles have given birth to suggestions the team is struggling because it isn’t having any fun.

The insinuation from agent Allan Walsh after the Flames latest loss Thursday is that Darryl Sutter’s negativity “sucks the joy right out of players.”