Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that following the dismissal of Darryl Sutter as the head coach of the Calgary Flames, reports are that disgruntled players who were prepared to leave and others who might have asked for trades have already changed their tune and are settling down. Seravalli went as far as to note he’s already heard that some players have rescinded their trade requests now that action was taken.
The Flames’ new executive team talked to all of the players and it became clear very quickly that it wasn’t going to work out with Sutter running the bench. As a result, the change was made. That has eased some of the tension in the locker room and the NHL insider explained:
“In talking to various people around the league that have connections to Calgary, the sentiment was any trade requests that were out there, or demands so to speak, have been rescinded now that there’s been a coaching change. So that, I think, opens the door for some players who might have been hesitating to eventually re-sign… that’ll of course be the call of whoever’s the next general manager.. that’s part of the reason why it was so important from a competitive standpoint. It doesn’t really make sense to throw away an $83.5 million roster, whatever next season ends up being, on the basis of a $4 million coach.”
Elliotte Friedman notes there have also been conversations between executives and players about which members of the team can handle the pressure that would come with any coach who is hard on them. There might still be changes to the roster as some of the players are deemed as soft and too sensitive by their own teammates. Friedman said, “Yes there were players that had harsh words for Sutter but also had some strong comments about why they thought some of their teammates could and could not handle it.”
The Flames are probably going to look at more of a players coach but that players said, ‘If you’re going to make the change, you better make sure that this player can handle the next guy.’ It was also said the players strongly urged that there be a captain for next season.
Next: Jonathan Huberdeau Slams Sutter After Coach Fired by Flames
