We are going to find out very quickly what this Calgary Flames team is or isn’t made of.
When Darryl Sutter was re-introduced to the Calgary media 11 years after he was let go as GM of the team and 15 years after the last time he served as head coach, he mentioned coming back to deal with “unfinished business.”
But as the Flames try to find consistency and an identity, it’s fair to wonder why Sutter? It’s been four years since he was behind an NHL bench and seven years since he won a playoff round. The game has changed wildly since he last found success and the amount of coaches left who we’d label an “old school taskmaster” are dwindling.
Will his message get across to this group and will his style be effective in a more offensive league — a more wild and crazy division and situation.
“There’s fundamentals that never change in terms of taking care of your own end and shot volume, puck possession, and things like that. When I got to LA we used the analytic part of it very effectively.” Sutter said Friday. “Tampa quietly changed their style of game by bringing in certain types of players, having a better defence, getting star players to buy in. They went from a contender to winning championships.”
Sutter has never missed the playoffs in his first full season with a team, but when he last joined the Flames partway through 2002-03, his .511 points percentage wasn’t enough of a turnaround to reach the post-season. They did make it to the Stanley Cup Final the next season though.
Sutter has coached parts of 18 seasons in the NHL and while most of those (11) came in the pre-cap era, his greatest success came on this side of history.
Now, with a three-year contract, he’s tasked with bringing an 11-11-2 Flames team that sits two points out of a playoff spot back to prominence and set them up for playoff success. His way will be different than Geoff Ward’s and how the players respond is now the key to their season and future.
Will Sutter be the right hire this time? Here’s a look back at each of his previous four stops as a head coach in the NHL.
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS: 1992-1995
Sutter’s first job on an NHL bench was as an associate with the Hawks under Mike Keenan. He was with them on their run to the 1992 Stanley Cup Final in that capacity and was promoted to the head coaching position that same off-season when Keenan was asked to focus on GM duties. Keenan didn’t last two months into the next season until he was dismissed, but Sutter coached in Chicago for three years.
Jeremy Roenick was the team’s early-20s rising star, but it was mostly an experienced core with Chris Chelios, Steve Larmer, Steve Smith, and brother Brent the next-highest scorers after Roenick. Sutter didn’t miss the playoffs with these teams, but he couldn’t get them back to the final again.
In his first year with the Hawks, Sutter did squeeze regular-season improvement. The Hawks went from an 87-point team to a 106-point team and first place in the Norris Division. But in a Round 1 rematch with the Blues, Chicago was swept.
In his second season at the helm, the Hawks stepped back to an 87-point team in the newly formed Central Division and were ousted in the first round by the Maple Leafs in six games.
The Hawks had a slightly better pace in the 48-game 1994-95 season and finished third in the Central. This time, Sutter led them to his first couple of series wins, a seven-gamer over the Leafs and a sweep of the Canucks. In the conference final, they lost to an emerging modern dynasty in the Detroit Red Wings, who then were swept in the Cup final.
After that playoff run Sutter stepped aside from coaching to be with his family back at the Viking, Alta. farm.
While Sutter is returning to the Flames in 2021 four years after last working an NHL bench, it’s not the first time he’s taken a multi-year break. After leaving the Hawks he took two years off before returning to…
SAN JOSE SHARKS: 1997-2002
Sutter was Patrick Marleau’s first NHL head coach in 1997 after he was chosen second overall. These Sharks were still relatively new, just seven years into their existence, with a couple playoff upsets already pulled off.
But it had been two seasons since San Jose qualified for the post-season when Sutter was hired. Here you had a young Owen Nolan and Jeff Friesen leading the offence, but also with a mix of veterans.
San Jose wasn’t great in Year 1 under Sutter, but did see a 16-point improvement and reached the playoffs as the eighth seed, where they lost in Round 1 to the Dallas Stars. The Sharks saw a regular-season points increase every year under Sutter, as some young players developed and the likes of Teemu Selanne, Vincent Damphousse, Brad Stuart and Evgeni Nabokov were added.
Sutter’s Sharks got past the first round twice, though never reached a conference final. His best playoff run was in his last season, when San Jose reached the second round and lost a 1-0 decision in Game 7 to Colorado.
San Jose started slow the next season and Sutter was fired in December.
It didn’t take long to find his next job…
CALGARY FLAMES: 2002-2006
Before December of 2002 was out, Sutter landed his next head coaching gig with Calgary.
The Flames had a slow start of their own and needed a new voice. Sutter put up a better record after taking over, but Calgary still missed the post-season by a wide margin.
In Year 2 of Sutter, Jarome Iginla drove the offence of this gritty and grizzled roster, with a dash of quickness in the mix. They added excellent goaltending, too, when the Flames traded with Sutter’s former team to get Miikka Kiprusoff.
This season would also mark the last before the 2004-05 lockout and a complete overhaul of the game. This was the last season of the Dead Puck Era and these Flames were well-built for the playoff style of that time. They finished sixth in the West, but got through Vancouver in seven, top-seed Detroit in six and even beat the Sharks one season after they fired Sutter.
The Lightning knocked off the Flames in a seven-game Stanley Cup Final, which of course leaves a haunting memory of Martin Gelinas’ “no goal.”
When the Flames and Sutter returned from the 2004-05 lockout the whole landscape was different, but Calgary still thrived and had an exciting new rookie in Dion Phaneuf. They finished atop the Northwest Division with 103 points, but were upset in Round 1 by Anaheim.
Sutter stepped down as head coach after that season to focus on GM duties, a role he remained in until 2010.
LOS ANGELES KINGS: 2011-17
The situation Sutter first walked into with the Kings is in some ways similar to the one he now faces in Calgary again.
The Kings had been rebuilding for some time before Sutter arrived in 2011 and GM Dean Lombardi was taking plenty of heat. They had been eliminated in the first round of back-to-back playoffs and then started 2011-12 slowly. Sutter was hired 33 games into that season as Lombardi’s potential last hire — if it went wrong, the GM could have been next.
But the Kings became a quick powerhouse. They didn’t score much, but defended extremely well, had solid netminding, and controlled shots better than almost anyone. They qualified for the playoffs as the No. 8 seed, but had gone 25–13–11 after Sutter became head coach and subsequently dominated their way to a Stanley Cup, losing just four times in the post-season.
“Neither one was in a playoff spot and we fought like hell to make it (in Los Angeles),” Sutter said about comparing that start with the Kings to what’s ahead in Calgary. “There’s a lot of similarities to start with top players. That team was probably more veteran at the time, but at the same time we had to get young players in the right frame of mind and they were star players and still are. To think about what it takes to win, and to prepare and take care of yourself.
“When I went to LA you had 40-something games left so you had longer,” Sutter continued. “There was more of a process. We have to try and speed that up as much as we can.”
Throughout Sutter’s time in Los Angeles the Kings were Corsi darlings. Say what you will about analytics vs. old school and where the perception is of Sutter along those lines, but by underlying measures this team was a statistical juggernaut before it was cool. Los Angeles made three straight conference finals and won two Stanley Cups with Sutter, but eventually the well ran dry.
Even in Sutter’s last season with the Kings, when they missed the playoffs for the second time in three years, they still led the league in Corsi For percentage and were the best defensive team in the league, but the goals didn’t come. Injuries, roster attrition and maybe some regression bit the Kings, but Sutter guided them through peak years after taking over at a tumultuous time.
Flames fans hope a similar route will be followed here.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Lamar Jackson threw for 281 yards and five touchdowns, helping the Baltimore Ravens overcome an early double-digit deficit and extend their National Football League winning streak to five games with a 41-31 victory Monday night over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who lost their top two receivers to injuries.
The two-time NFL MVP improved to 23-1 against NFC teams, the best mark by a quarterback against an opposing conference in NFL history. He’s 3-0 against the Bucs (4-3), who faded after taking a 10-0 lead with help from the 100th TD reception of Mike Evans’ career.
Evans departed with a hamstring injury after Baker Mayfield tried to connect with him in the end zone again, and late in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach, leading Bucs receiver Chris Godwin was carted off the field with a left ankle injury. ESPN declined to show replays of Godwin’s injury, which appeared to be severe.
Jackson completed 17 of 22 passes without an interception, including TD throws of nine and four yards to Mark Andrews. He also tossed scoring passes of 49 yards to Rashod Bateman, 18 yards to Justice Hill and 11 yards to Derrick Henry, who rushed for 169 yards on 15 carries. Bateman had four catches for 121 yards.
The Ravens (5-2) rebounded from a slow start on defence, with cornerback Marlon Humphrey turning the game around with a pair of second-quarter interceptions — one of them in the Baltimore end zone. Jackson led a four-play, 80-yard TD drive after the first pick, and the second interception set up Justin Tucker’s 28-yard field goal for a 17-10 halftime lead.
Elsewhere in the NFL:
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CARDINALS 17 CHARGERS 15
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kyler Murray ran for a 44-yard touchdown and led the Cardinals on a drive that set up Chad Ryland’s 32-yard field goal as time expired, and Arizona rallied for a win over Los Angeles.
Cameron Dicker kicked his fifth field goal of the night — this one from 40 yards — to give the Chargers a 15-14 lead with 1:54 left. But the Cardinals (3-4) quickly moved into field goal range, aided by an unnecessary roughness call on Cam Hart that cost Los Angeles (3-3) 15 yards.
Arizona followed that with a bruising 33-yard run by James Conner, who finished with 101 yards on the ground. That eventually set up Ryland’s short field goal and a Cardinals celebration.
It was a frustrating night for the Chargers’ offence, which gained 395 yards but couldn’t find the end zone. Justin Herbert completed 27 of 39 passes for 349 yards.
Dicker booted field goals of 59, 50, 28, 47 and 40 yards, the first of which tied a franchise record for distance.
Murray ran for a spectacular touchdown early in the fourth quarter, rolling to his left before turning on the jets, beating safety Junior Colston to the sideline and then coasting into the end zone for a 14-9 lead.
It was Murray’s second long touchdown run in three weeks after he scored on a 50-yard sprint against San Francisco. It was also Murray’s 20th career game with a touchdown pass and run.
Murray completed 14 of 26 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have been here before — literally and figuratively.
With the season hanging in the balance, the ‘Caps were dealt a blow last week when the club learned it wouldn’t be able to play a post-season wild-card game in its home stadium, B.C. Place, due to a scheduling conflict.
The Whitecaps ceded home field advantage to their regional rival, the Portland Timbers. The two clubs will battle for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference in Oregon on Wednesday.
The winner will face No. 1-seed Los Angeles FC in a best-of-three first-round series, starting Sunday.
An unforeseen hurdle like a change of venues is nothing new for the ‘Caps, said defender Ranko Veselinovic, who was part of the team that was forced to relocate first to Portland, then Utah during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It feels that always something happens for us, but it is what it is. So far, we’ve managed to always find solutions for those situations,” said the Serbian centre back. “But I hope this team can find it one more time, because we need it this time. And it will be a really nice feeling in those circumstances to go in, win and go face L.A. in the next round.”
Vancouver (13-13-8) heads into the post-season winless in its last seven MLS games and with losses in four straight after dropping a 2-1 road decision to Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
The skid followed a run that saw the club go 4-1-3 across all competitions between late August and late September.
There’s just one way to return to that level, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini.
“The work is the only way to do it. Try to put the work in and try to put the team in a way that they’re going to regain the form and the way that they were in the past,” he said.
Despite the final score, Sartini has seen positives in the way his team played in its two most recent losses.
“I think already we turned the corner,” he said. “And we start from there to build and build and build.”
Facing challenges together can help a team build, whether it’s a winless skid or an unexpected hurdle, said Vancouver’s captain Ryan Gauld.
“When you’re going through adversity, that’s when people start to raise their voice a little bit. You get good when the problems arise, you get a lot of people coming together to make sure we get out of it,” said the Scottish attacking midfielder.
“And we’ve had a tough time the last few games, but everyone’s aware of the fact that we’re a much better team than we’ve shown, and we need to find a way to get back to doing what we’re good at.”
The ‘Caps face a familiar foe in the Timbers (12-11-11).
The two sides have already met three times this season, with each coming out of the series with a win, a loss and a draw.
Portland has also struggled in recent weeks and are winless in their last five MLS outings (0-1-4).
The Timbers boast one of the league’s top offensive units, though, with threats such as Evander. The Brazilian midfielder notched 15 goals and 19 assists during the regular season.
To earn a win on Wednesday, the Whitecaps must be solid defensively, Gauld said.
“They must be one of the best attacks in the league. They have a lot of good players, and they can hurt you if you switch off,” he said. “So just being concentrated from the first whistle, and just being hard to beat, being stuffy. Just being on it for the full 90 minutes.”
A victory in the wild-card match would guarantee Vancouver at least one home playoff game, a factor that Sartini said would be a big reward for his group.
The entire team relished the experience of playing post-season soccer in front of more than 30,000 fans last year, the coach said, and the desire to repeat the feat is high as the club heads to Portland.
“Everyone is happy to be in the playoffs. So we don’t have to be moody to be in the playoff. And we go in there, we’re play one of our rivals. So it’s gonna be a nice game to show up and to play our best game possible.”
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (13-13-8) AT PORTLAND TIMBERS (12-11-11)
Wednesday, Providence Park
HISTORY BOOKS: This will mark the seventh all-time post-season meeting between the Timbers and ‘Caps, dating back to 1975. The last time the two clubs squared off in a playoff game was during the Western Conference semifinal in 2015. Portland won the two-game aggregate series and went on to hoist the MLS Cup.
ROAD WARRIORS: The ‘Caps boasted a 7-6-4 record on the road during regular-season play — better than the 6-7-4 showing they posted at B.C. Place.
POST-SEASON PARTY: Wednesday will mark the first time the Timbers have hosted a post-season game since 2021.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scotland conceived rugby sevens in the 1880s yet it will not feature in the scaled-back 2026 Commonwealth Games hosted by Glasgow.
Other sports that have also been dropped include field hockey, triathlon, badminton, Twenty20 cricket, squash, and diving.
The Games will have a 10-sport program in four venues. Athletics and swimming are compulsory while there will also be track cycling, gymnastics, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and 3×3 basketball.
There will also be integrated para events in six of those sports: Athletics, swimming, track cycling, weightlifting, bowls and basketball.
The Games will take place from July 23-Aug. 2 after Glasgow stepped in when the Australian state of Victoria withdrew last year because of rising costs.
It was not easy to decide which sports to include, Commonwealth Games Scotland chairman Ian Reid told the BBC on Tuesday.
“I think everybody recognises that these events need to be more affordable, lighter and we would have loved to have all of our sports and all of our athletes competing but unfortunately it’s just not deliverable or affordable for this time frame,” Reid said.
Athletes and support staff will be housed in hotels. Around 3,000 athletes are expected to compete from up to 74 Commonwealth nations and territories representing a combined total of 2.5 billion people, a third of the world’s entire population.
More than 500,000 tickets made available for spectators.
The Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Katie Sadleir said: “The 2026 Games will be a bridge to the Commonwealth Games of tomorrow, an exciting first step in our journey to reset and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible and sustainable model for the future that minimises costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact. In doing so, increasing the scope of countries capable of hosting.”
Glasgow hosted the event in 2014 at a cost of more than 540 million pounds.
