Brent Sutter Enjoying Life With Flames

The naming of Brent Sutter as head coach of the Calgary Flames was not a surprise. The June 23 announcement made headlines, but was also a poorly-kept secret in most hockey circles.

From the moment he resigned in New Jersey, Sutter was expected to join brother Darryl, the Flames' general manager, in coach-less Calgary. Once Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello gave permission for Brent to make that move, it was quickly announced. After about a month on the job, Sutter took some time to talk to FanHouse about his move back to western Canada.

Sutter said everything has been "really good" so far in Calgary.

"Just like with anything new, it's a learning curve," he said. The whole thing has been outstanding. The organization really has great communication."

The new coach said there really weren't any reservations about going to work in an organization where his older brother was the general manager.

"It's always hard to resign from a job, but I resigned for all the right reasons. I learned a lot, but it was not working for Brent Sutter in a lot of ways, and I had to make a decision.""I've worked with Darryl," Brent Sutter said. "I've played with Darryl. I'm not really working for Darryl now. I'm working for the Calgary Flames. Through the (hiring) process, I spent time with ownership, and I spent time with (president) Ken King. Organization has tremendous communication. Everyone knows what's going on."

Sutter did note that it wasn't exactly easy leaving New Jersey after just two seasons, but he was clear he had no regrets, largely because being so far away from his family wasn't working.

"It's always hard to resign from a job," Sutter said, "but I resigned for all the right reasons. I learned a lot, but it was not working for Brent Sutter in a lot of ways, and I had to make a decision. That decision was to be close to my family and kids and business (Sutter still owns the Western Hockey League's Red Deer Rebels)."

Sutter noted that Calgary is only about an hour and 15 minutes away from his ranch, so he was very excited when he was approached by the Flames.

At the press conference introducing Brent Sutter as the new head coach, Darryl Sutter lauded the abilities of the assistant coaches he brought on board, Ryan McGill, Dave Lowry, and Jamie McLennan. Saying he coached all four new hires himself, Darryl noted the their ability to relate to and communicate with players. Brent agrees.

"We're a young staff, but very enthusiastic," he said. "Good leaders. We've been captains and assistant captains. We have the knowledge. Now, our job is to put it all together and work well together."

On the ice, the Flames appear to be quite formidable defensively. Jay Bouwmeester was acquired in a draft-day trade and re-signed before free agency began July 1. He joins All-Star Dion Phaneuf, Robyn Regehr, and Cory Sarich in what could be the league's strongest blue-line group.

"It's exciting to have Jay," Sutter said. "He's an elite defenseman, and it's tough to find anybody who knows the game and plays the game as well as he does. The important thing is to put this group together and make it all work. It all looks great on paper."

Brent Sutter has a son, Brandon, playing in the Carolina Hurricanes system. The elder Sutter said that while the idea of the game is still the same, much of the game has changed from when he played versus now that he's coaching and his son is playing.

"You have to be disciplined and a hard-working player," Brent Sutter said. "Nowadays, you train 11 months out of the year. Guys come to camp in outstanding shape. When I played, it was different. Training camp was used by many guys to get in shape. I felt guilty about it, so I would train through the summer. But a lot of guys would get in shape with training camp.

"Now, there's more parity in the game," he added. "There's a fine line between winning and losing. It's starts right from the get-go. Everybody in the NHL is good. When I played, there were games you went into when you were not a real decent team and the team you played had so much talent. That team could not play their best and still win. It's different now."

It's that kind of 82-game mentality that the Flames will likely need to unseat Vancouver in the Northwest Division. The Canucks charged hard after the trade deadline and overtook Calgary during the season's final week. The slumping Flames were then eliminated in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs by Chicago. With Sutter on board, the hope is that a new voice and an elite group of defensemen can carry Calgary to greater heights.