*Photo from the CBC*
The second coaching change of the short NHL season is another Canadian team. The Calgary Flames have fired head coach Geoff Ward following a 7-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators, according to an announcement made by the team. The Flames also made an announcement that former Flames head coach Darryl Sutter will be taking over for a second term, as he has signed a 3 year deal to become the head coach.
Sutter talked about the high end core in Calgary at his introductory press conference, saying that "There's a nucleus here of nine or 10 players that are really good players in the National Hockey League. From a coaching standpoint, that jumps out at you. When you have a top goalie, a Top 3 defenceman and are strong in the middle of the ice, that's a recipe for winning and that's what appealed to me the most."
Ward became head coach of the Flames in November of 2019, after previous head coach Bill Peters was fired due to racially insensitive remarks. Ward led the Flames to a 24-15-3 record last season, prior to the stoppage, and he was named permanent head coach in September. In the Edmonton bubble, the Flames beat the Winnipeg Jets in the playoff qualifying round, but lost to the Dallas Stars in the first round.
Flames GM Brad Treliving said of hiring Sutter that "This isn't the first time I've reached out to Darryl. I've known him and have had a huge amount of respect for him for a long time. When you watch your team, your job as a manager is to take your cues from the team. It's never easy to make change, but the job is to make difficult decisions and I knew we needed to make a change, and there was only one guy we needed to have. It came together quick over the last few days."
Despite the good record under Ward last season, that momentum has not carried over, as the Flames currently have just an 11-11-2 record this season, sitting at 5th place in the NHL's North Division. If the season ended today, the Flames would not be in the playoffs. They have also been on a skid lately, losing 6 of their last 9 games, and rank just 23rd in the NHL in goals per game.
Treliving talked about how Sutter would help the Flames, saying that "Darryl is one of the best humans I've been around. You know a lot of people in your life, you talk to them and ask you how you are, Darryl actually means it and wants to know how you are. He's one of the sharpest minds that's stood behind the bench in our league, and has had the ability to extract the very best out of every individual. It's not easy, but the players will always know where they stand. There will be complete clarity; it will be black and white."
Sutter previously served as the bench boss of the Flames from 2002-2006, leading the Flames to the Stanley Cup final in 2004. He also served as GM of the Flames from 2003-2010. Sutter's last coaching experience was in 2016-2017 with the Los Angeles Kings, where he won two Stanley cups. Sutter will have to go through Covid-19 intake protocols and testing, meaning he will not be able to join the team until Tuesday at the earliest. Assistant coach Ryan Huska will serve as head coach against the Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators until Sutter clears protocols.
Ward becomes the second head coach to be fired this season, both by Canadian teams. Claude Julien was fired in February by the Montreal Canadiens.
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