The Calgary Flames’ best season in recent memory was with Darryl Sutter behind the bench. The same guy who was seen as the ‘problem’ when things went sideways. Now, just two years into his tenure as the bench boss, Ryan Huska has been under constant fire and scrutiny for the team’s play.

The team has never had high expectations during Huska’s time in the Saddledome. However, with the team overachieving, his decision-making has come under fire.

Darryl Sutter’s second tenure

March 4, 2021. The day that the Calgary Flames brought back Darryl Sutter as their head coach. During the shortened season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Calgary struggled under Geoff Ward. When Sutter took over the reins, there wasn’t much turnaround as the Flames missed the playoffs.

Over that offseason, multiple players were brought in, players who fit Sutter’s style of hockey. Brad Richardson, Trevor Lewis, and Nikita Zadorov are all guys who play the physical and defensive game. Sutter emphasized how playoff games would be rough and tumble, mentally and physically draining. He had his players play like that from the jump, and brought in guys for that.

“I think the big thing with Darryl that I’ve noticed is it’s just a lot about how we play, whether we win or lose. I think he’s just looking at us from the long-run perspective, how we need to play to win a Stanley Cup. So if you win a game 7–6, yeah, you won the game, but he’s still going to correct us and we know we have work to do and that’s not the way we’re going to play if we’re gonna have success in the long run. I think he’s good at that. We’re always learning. Each game, we dissect what we need to get better at, and we’re never too comfortable.”

—Noah Hanifin

The thing with Sutter is that it worked. It wasn’t a coach adapting to a team; it was the team adapting to the coach, and adding players who know this system and can contribute. In his first full season, the 2021–22 season, Calgary was lights out.

A year after missing out on the postseason, the Flames rebounded, winning the Pacific division by seven points. A record of 50–21–11, and the third best goals against in the NHL, that was Darryl Sutter hockey.

Round one was a grind, with the series going the distance against the Dallas Stars and a red-hot Jake Oettinger. Dump and chase hockey, pucks on net. While cliches, they are exactly what Sutter had the Flames doing. In the end, it all worked out with Johnny Gaudreau scoring the series-clinching goal.

Round two showed lots of inconsistencies in the roster, with the team getting exposed by the Edmonton Oilers. The Flames had room for improvement, but it was a positive step. Until the same players who created magic under Sutter left. Management didn’t do enough, and a roster that took a major step back wasn’t the fault of Sutter. However, it was his job on the line.

Sutter’s impact on the Flames

Under Sutter, Flames players had massive upticks in production. Johnny Gaudreau set career highs in goals, assists, and points. Matthew Tkachuk set a career high in goals, assists, and points as well. The next season, he set a new career high in assists and points. Rasmus Andersson set career highs in assists and points, and Andrew Mangiapane set career highs in all three categories. Darryl Sutter brought out the very best in the Flames that season, and afterwards, when the team was no longer a team that was built around his system, he was cut loose.

Ryan Huska’s tenure

After Darryl Sutter was let go, Ryan Huska was brought in to be the next head coach of the Calgary Flames. Huska came in and had a roster that completely underperformed the year prior. When he came in, he was expected to rejuvenate the lineup and bring them back to the playoffs. An impossible task, as the roster was one with no buy-in anymore, desperate to leave. Huska has dealt with multiple troubles during his time as head coach, none of which was his fault.

Huska’s impact on the Flames

Multiple Flames players have had several down years under Huska with the team, as Calgary has struggled with offence. As the team is in the middle of a mushy rebuild, retool hybrid, Huska has worked with minimal talent and no team direction. As the young guys continue to get opportunities in the lineup, Calgary needs to find some direction.

Ownerships major faults

As mentioned before, the Flames are in the midst of a hybrid between a rebuild and a retool. Craig Conroy has, at times, seemed like he wanted to go down the route of a full-blown rebuild. It seems that ownership has been pushing management and the team to be competitive. A theme that is messing this team up and keeping them in a place of mediocrity.

What Calgary must do now

Many people in the fanbase want the Flames to rebuild, others want them to re-tool and get younger, and some want them to go straight to being competitive now. It seems the Flames want to do all three things. Before Calgary does anything else, they must choose one of the three to focus on, preferably a rebuild or a youthful re-tool. Until then, this team can’t continue to blame the coaches or the players.

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