November 25, 2010, Atlantic Division Notebook for HockeyPrimeTime.com examining Brent Sutter's return to Newark

Sutter, Devils' struggles mirror each other

Atlantic

Written by Denis Gorman

Tuesday, November 23, 2010 21:02

Wednesday's Devils-Flames tilt was better viewed as a trip down memory lane than 65-plus minutes of flashy hockey. The grass isn't any greener for Brent Sutter or the Devils since they parted ways. As far as returns go, what took place Wednesday night, won’t ever be compared to Brett Favre starting at quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field. Still, there was some emotion as Brent Sutter coached his first game against the Devils in New Jersey. Sutter stepped down as head coach of the Devils on June 9, 2009. AROUND THE ATLANTIC Exactly two weeks later, he accepted the same position with the Calgary Flames, whose general manager happens to be his brother Darryl. It was a decision that, when announced, upset Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek “Yes, it puts a different light on things. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth,” Vanderbeek complained to the Newark Star Ledger. “All of the conversations we had throughout the year with Brent had been regarding his family, them not moving here, about Red Deer and changes he was contemplating back there. Certainly I was surprised when the prospect of coaching another team raised its head one month after leaving this team. It's upsetting. “I certainly feel disappointed because I thought Brent was the right coach for the long term,” Vanderbeek added. "It doesn't do a team or organization any good to employ somebody that does not have 110 percent of his head in it." Jump forward nine months to March 3. There was Sutter, attempting to explain his rationale for ostensibly leaving the Devils for another NHL head coaching job. “I was going to leave either way. I was going back to Red Deer no matter what. I wasn’t staying. I made that very clear. It had nothing to do with anything else. ... To be quite honest, if it didn’t materialize or work out here, I wasn’t going to coach,” Sutter told the Star-Ledger two nights before his Flames beat his former team, 5-3, at the recently renamed Scotiabank Saddledome. “I think people made so much out of it because it was Darryl,” Sutter suggested. “But he was shocked. Not shocked, but he was surprised that I said I wasn’t going back. If people understood our relationship, they would know. Outside you don’t see it. People know, ‘They’re brothers, but Darryl does his thing and Brent does his.’ “No one was there except for Lou and me and my family. We’re the only ones that know,” Sutter said. “I was disappointed to see some of the comments that Jeff (Vanderbeek) made, but he’s the owner of the team and he has every right to make them. I respect that. But he wasn’t part of the process that we went through. He didn’t come to the farm. He didn’t fly in to see what I had here. He didn’t know what I had here. To be honest, I met with Jeff before I left and I never ever heard another word from him. And it’s too bad, because I was hoping to get a phone call from him in that first week or two after I left and I never did hear from him. That’s OK.” Brent Sutter has a better-than-OK career coaching record of 145-94-22. A closer examination shows that he was successful in Newark (97-56-11 and two playoff appearances) but his Alberta homecoming has been less than stellar. The Sutter brothers’ 17 months running the Flames’ hockey operations department has been marked by on-ice mediocrity (48-43-11), speculation of players feuding with each other and coaches, and a permanent pick-up and drop-off spot in front of Calgary International Airport. The Flames finished 10th in the West last season with a 40-32-10 recording. The season was deemed a failure because Calgary had acquired Jay Bouwmeester from Florida, then signed the defenseman to a five year, $33.4 million contract extension before the 2009 free agency period began. Darryl Sutter attempted to shake his team out of its 2009-10 season long malaise with two late January trades. He consummated a blockbuster deal with Brian Burke, sending defenseman Dion Phaneuf, penalty-killing forward Fredrik Sjostrom and prospect Keith Aulie to Toronto for Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers and Ian White. Sutter then traded Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust to the Rangers for Christopher Higgins and Ales Kotalik. The deals weakened an already weak group and Calgary missed the playoff for the first time since the 2002-03 season. To attempt to rectify those personnel failings, Darryl Sutter signed Jokinen to a baffling two-year, $6 million free agent contract over the summer, and he traded his son Brett and Ian White to Carolina last week for Anton Babchuk and Tom Kostopoulos. Like the 2009-10 trades, these moves haven’t paid off. Only provincial rival Edmonton, at 5-11-4, has a worse record in the West than do the 8-11-2 Flames. The latest speculation is that the Flames' head coach does not see eye-to-eye with Jarome Iginla, the team's captain and undisputed star. The supposed feud has fueled supposition that the Flames may be forced to trade Iginla and that the Sutter brothers could be canned. An on-ice lack of success, a player-coach spat and rumors of a change behind the bench are unpleasant aspects of NHL life that the 2010-11 Devils know only all too well. The Devils, who entered the campaign as a Cup favorite, are 7-13-2 under rookie coach John MacLean. Already, MacLean has had to scratch top line right wing Ilya Kovalchuk for being 10 minutes late to a team meeting. The collapse of the Devils has led to conjecture that MacLean may be fired himself. New Jersey has also had an almost unfathomable amount of injuries in the first eight weeks of the campaign. Zach Parise, Martin Brodeur, Brian Rolston, Anton Volchenkov, Mark Fraser, Bryce Salvador, Anssi Salmela and Jacob Josefson have all missed time due to a variety of injuries. Wednesday's game, a 2-1 shootout win by the Devils, wasn't much to look at. And while the jobs of both MacLean and Iginla could be safe, but in the aftermath of Brent Sutter’s return to Newark, one wonders if he had to do it over again, would he choose to leave the Devils? If fate grants the Devils and Sutter a second chance, would they hire back their former coach? Notes Pat Burns, who died due to complications from cancer last weekend, was remembered warmly by his former players. Former New Jersey Devils, and current Montreal Canadiens, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta shared their memories of the three-time Jack Adams Award winner with The Canadian Press. ... Martin Brodeur may miss the next two weeks with a bruised elbow, according to The Associated Press. … It is tough to remember a more bizarre week than the one the Islanders experienced last week. As reported by HPT and elsewhere, the organization fired head coach Scott Gordon on Monday. A little more than 24 hours later, the organization revoked Chris Botta’s press credential. Botta, who was employed by the organization in its public relations department for 15 years, told the New York Times that he believes GM Garth Snow decided to revoke his credential due to "negative" coverage. Botta spoke with New York City sports talk radio host Mike Francesa regarding the controversy. On the ice, the Islanders' losing streak reached 14 games with Wednesday's overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets … HBO aired a preview of its 24/7 Penguins-Capitals show Saturday night. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Penguins blog, Chipped Ice, speculated what the show would spotlight, specifically the disdain the two teams have for each other. The Rangers’ 5-2 win in Minnesota Saturday night was also John Tortorella’s 300th NHL coaching win. The game marked the first for Marian Gaborik and Derek Boogaard against their former team in Minnesota. Also, it was the first professional game in Minnesota for native sons Derek Stepan and Michael Sauer. … The Flyers announced Sunday morning that they had acquired forward Rob Bordson and defenseman Danny Syvret from Anaheim for forwards Patrick Maroon and David Laliberte. Bordson and Syvret were then sent to the Flyers' AHL affiliate in Adirondack. Twitter: @DenisGorman

Last Updated on Thursday, November 25, 2010 06:52

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