Darryl Sutter was hated by Flames players

Darryl Sutter’s career in Calgary didn’t end so well. He was fired after the Flames had a poor season, failing to qualify for the playoffs. But performance wasn’t the only reason for his departure.

Three journalists from The Athletic wrote an article detailing the reasons for Sutter’s departure.

Darryl Sutter built a reputation as a harsh, exacting, in-your-face leader.

At first, he looked to be the Flames’ franchise savior.

Then things went left.

More on how Sutter’s behavior exacerbated Calgary’s downward spiral and cost him his job⤵️https://t.co/hVzj9p1FtM

– The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 16, 2023

To be honest, it’s pretty shocking.

We can start with the story of Jakob Pelletier. On January 21 of this year, Pelletier, then 21, played his very first career NHL game. After the game, reporters asked Sutter what he thought of Pelletier’s work in the game. He said he didn’t know what his number was, and you could tell he didn’t care.

Sutter is an old hand. Even though Pelletier was having a terrific season with the Flames’ AHL affiliate, he didn’t seem to want to give him a chance because he’s only 5 feet 9 inches tall.

That’s far from all. Sutter often argued with veteran Mikael Backlund. According to MacKenzie Weegar, Backlund and Sutter would sh*t on each other on the bench during games.

According to The Athletic, the reason for team general manager Brad Treliving’s departure had something to do with Sutter. He apparently couldn’t feel it.

Understandably so. In addition to being abusive and unwilling to cooperate with his players, Sutter didn’t handle well the star players Treliving had acquired in recent years. For example, he placed Jonathan Huberdeau on the second line on numerous occasions, and sometimes even on the third line.

After Treliving’s departure, the players went to the Flames’ president of field hockey operations, Don Maloney, and told him they needed a new coach and that it wouldn’t work with Sutter. Some players were even ready to ask for a trade if Sutter wasn’t fired.

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