Darryl Sutter

Darryl Sutter
Born	August 19, 1958 Viking, AB, CAN
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shot	Left
Played for	New Brunswick Hawks Chicago Blackhawks
NHL Draft	179th overall, 1978 Chicago Blackhawks
Playing career	1979–1987

Darryl John Sutter (born August 19, 1958) is a Canadian professional ice hockey and former player. He is the current head coach of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL).^[1] He is one of seven Sutter brothers, six of whom made the NHL (Brent, Brian, Darryl, Duane, Rich and Ron); all but Rich and Gary (the seventh Sutter brother) worked alongside Darryl in some capacity during Darryl Sutter's tenure with the Calgary Flames. Sutter has also coached for the San Jose Sharks and the Chicago Blackhawks, the latter with which he spent his entire NHL playing career with, from 1979 to 1987.

Playing career

As a player, Sutter spent five years in the minor leagues, including a year in Japan, where he was named rookie of the year. He stands 5 foot 11 inches and his playing weight was 176 pounds. Sutter was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks at the 1978 NHL Entry Draft in the 11th round, 179th overall. In his NHL career, he suited up only for the Blackhawks and scored 279 points (161 goals and 118 assists) in 406 career regular season games, in addition to 43 points (24 goals and 19 assists) in 51 Stanley Cup playoff games. His last season as a player was in 1986–87.

Coaching career

Sutter began his coaching career in the International Hockey League (IHL), where he coached the Saginaw Hawks and led the Indianapolis Ice to the Turner Cup as League champions.

He was the head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks for three seasons and also served as Chicago’s assistant coach in 1987–88 and as associate coach from 1990 to 1992. He led Chicago to a first-place finish in the Norris Division—and the best record in the Campbell Conference—in 1992–93 with a 47–25–12 record (106 points), only to be swept in the opening round by the St. Louis Blues, which featured his brother Rich on the team. In the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season, he led Chicago to the Western Conference Finals. Following the 1994–95 season, he stepped down as coach of the Blackhawks coach to return home to the family farm in Viking, Alberta. The decision was largely made out of necessity for him to be with his son, Christopher, who has Down syndrome.^[2]

After a two-year hiatus from coaching, Sutter returned to the NHL in 1997–98 season as head coach of the San Jose Sharks, coaching the team until being relieved of his duties on December 1, 2002, just 24 games into the 2002–03 season.^[3]

On December 28, 2002, four weeks after he was fired by San Jose, Sutter was named head coach of the Calgary Flames, replacing Greg Gilbert, who had been fired by Calgary on December 3.^[4] In April 2003, with Calgary already out of contention of a 2003 playoff spot and then-General Manager Craig Button's contract expiring, the Flames added the title of GM to Sutter's job responsibilities.^[5]

In the 2003–04 season, his first full season in Calgary, Sutter led the Flames to a 42–30–7–3 record and the organization's first trip to the playoffs in seven seasons. En route to the Stanley Cup Finals, where Calgary ultimately lost in seven games to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Flames defeated three higher-ranked opponents in the Western Conference playoff bracket—the Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks. Sutter and the Flames were unable to build-upon their surprise success, however, as the entire following season, 2004–05, was cancelled due to a lockout.

Sutter at the 2006 NHL Awards.

On July 12, 2006, Sutter stepped down as head coach of the Flames. He has said that he found it difficult to handle the jobs of both head coach and GM of the Flames. Sutter compiled a 107–73–26 record in two-plus seasons behind the Calgary bench. The Flames promoted Jim Playfair as Sutter's replacement, but after a first-round loss to Detroit in 2006–07, Sutter hired Mike Keenan as head coach, with Playfair stepping back into an associate coaching role. Keenan was then fired a month after the Flames were eliminated from the 2008–09 playoffs by Chicago. Brent Sutter, former coach of the New Jersey Devils, was selected as the new Flames coach in June 2009. On December 28, 2010, Sutter resigned as the general manager of the Flames.

On December 17, 2011, the Los Angeles Kings hired Sutter mid-season as the team's new head coach after the dismissal of Terry Murray.^[6] Sutter's first game with the Kings was a December 22, 2011, shootout victory over rival Anaheim Ducks. He led the Kings to a 25–13–11 mark in 49 games, finished third in the Pacific Division, and entered the 2012 playoffs as the eighth and last seed in the Western Conference. In the playoffs, the team beat the first seed Vancouver Canucks, second seed St. Louis Blues and third seed Phoenix Coyotes to advance to the Stanley Cup Final, the only team to accomplish that feat in the 119-year history of the Finals. The Kings then went on to defeat New Jersey four games to two to give Los Angeles its first Stanley Cup championship in its 45-year history. The Kings set several records during the playoffs, including winning ten-straight games on the road and being the first team to go three games to zero in each of their playoff series.^[7][8]

Sutter and the Kings later won another Stanley Cup in the 2013–14 season, playing 26 playoff games, the most ever for a Cup champion. The Kings also became only the fourth team in NHL history to come back from down three games to zero in a series after shocking the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Los Angeles then went on to defeat Anaheim and Chicago, both in seven-game series. On June 13, 2014, the Kings beat the New York Rangers in five games to win their second Stanley Cup in three years.

Despite posting a 40–27–15 record in the 2014–15 season, Sutter and the Kings missed the 2015 playoffs by four points, becoming the first team since the 2006–07 Carolina Hurricanes to miss the playoffs entirely after winning the Stanley Cup the previous year, and only the fourth in NHL history.

Personal life

Sutter and his wife Wanda have three children, Brett, Jessie and Christopher.^[9] In addition to his NHL responsibilities, Sutter also owns and maintains a 3,000 acre farm in Viking, Alberta, raising beef cattle.^[10][11] In February 1997, during his hiatus from coaching, Sutter fell from a height of 12 feet while doing repairs on the farm and suffered a skull fracture and a broken shoulder blade.^[2]

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1974–75	Red Deer Rustlers	AJHL		60	16	20	36	43		—	—	—	—	—
1975–76	Red Deer Rustlers	AJHL		60	43	93	136	82		—	—	—	—	—
1976–77	Lethbridge Broncos	WCHL		1	1	0	1	0		15	3	7	10	13
1976–77	Red Deer Rustlers	AJHL		56	55	78	133	131		—	—	—	—	—
1977–78	Lethbridge Broncos	WCHL		68	33	48	81	119		8	4	9	13	2
1978–79	New Brunswick Hawks	AHL		19	7	6	13	6		5	1	2	3	0
1978–79	Flint Generals	IHL		—	—	—	—	—		1	0	1	1	0
1979–80	New Brunswick Hawks	AHL		69	35	31	66	69		12	6	6	12	8
1979–80	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		8	2	0	2	2		7	3	1	4	2
1980–81	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		76	40	22	62	86		3	3	1	4	2
1981–82	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		40	23	12	35	31		3	0	1	1	2
1982–83	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		80	31	30	61	53		13	4	6	10	8
1983–84	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		59	20	20	40	44		5	1	1	2	0
1984–85	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		49	20	18	38	12		15	12	7	19	12
1985–86	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		50	17	10	27	44		3	1	2	3	0
1986–87	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		44	8	6	14	16		2	0	0	0	0
NHL totals				406	161	118	279	288		51	24	19	43	26

Head coaching record

NHL coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season							Post season
		Games	Won	Lost	Tied	OTL	Points	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
CHI	1992–93	84	47	25	12	—	106	1st in Norris	0	4	.000	Lost in First Round
CHI	1993–94	84	39	36	9	—	87	5th in Central	2	4	.333	Lost in First Round
CHI	1994–95	48	24	19	5	—	53	3rd in Central	9	7	.563	Lost in Third Round
CHI Total		216	110	80	26				11	15	.423
SJ	1997–98	82	34	38	10	—	78	4th in Pacific	2	4	.333	Lost in First Round
SJ	1998–99	82	31	33	18	—	80	4th in Pacific	2	5	.286	Lost in First Round
SJ	1999–00	82	35	30	10	7	87	4th in Pacific	5	7	.417	Lost in Second Round
SJ	2000–01	82	40	27	12	3	95	2nd in Pacific	2	4	.333	Lost in First Round
SJ	2001–02	82	44	27	8	3	99	1st in Pacific	7	5	.583	Lost in Second Round
SJ	2002–03	24	9	12	2	1	21	(fired)	—	—	—	—
SJ Total		434	193	167	60	14			18	25	.419
CGY	2002–03	46	19	18	8	1	47	5th in Northwest	—	—	—	Did not qualify
CGY	2003–04	82	42	30	7	3	94	3rd in Northwest	15	11	.577	Lost in Stanley Cup Final
CGY	2005–06	82	46	25	—	11	103	1st in Northwest	3	4	.429	Lost in First Round
CGY Total		210	107	73	15	15			18	15	.545	.545
LA	2011–12	49	25	13	—	11	95	3rd in Pacific	16	4	.800	Won Stanley Cup
LA	2012–13	48	27	16	—	5	59	2nd in Pacific	9	9	.500	Lost in Conference Final
LA	2013–14	82	46	28	—	8	100	3rd in Pacific	16	10	.615	Won Stanley Cup
LA	2014–15	82	40	27	—	15	95	4th in Pacific	—	—	—	Did not qualify
LA	2015–16	82	48	28	—	6	102	2nd in Pacific	1	4	.200	Lost in First Round
LA Total		343	186	112	—	45			42	27	.641
TOTAL		1,203	596	432	101	74			88	78	.530

Minor league coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
		G	W	L	T	Pts	Finish	Result
SAG	1988–89	82	46	26	10	102	2nd in East	Lost in first round
IND	1989–90	82	53	21	8	114	1st in West	Won Turner Cup

See also

• Captain (ice hockey)
• List of NHL head coaches
• Notable families in the NHL

References

1. CP (2011-12-20). "Kings name Darryl Sutter new head coach". TSN. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
2. "Around the NHL". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. March 12, 1997.
3. Beacham, Greg (December 2, 2002). "Slumping Sharks Fire Sutter, Assistants". San Jose Mercury News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 2, 2002.
4. "Flames fire Coach Greg Gilbert". United Press International. UPI. December 3, 2002.
5. Pike, Ryan (December 28, 2010). "Darryl Sutter hits the dusty trail". The Hockey Writers.
6. LeBrun, Pierre (December 14, 2011). "Source: Kings eye Darryl Sutter". ESPN.com. ESPNLosAngeles.com.
7. "LA Kings rock NJ Devils 6-1 in Game 6 at Staples Center to win franchise's first Stanley Cup". NY Daily News. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
8. NHL.com - Kings make history, poised to make more - Bracket Challenge - 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs
9. http://kings.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=76221
10. http://lakingsinsider.com/2014/03/11/meanwhile-back-on-the-farm/
11. http://articles.latimes.com/2012/sep/22/sports/la-sp-sn-darryl-sutter-nhl-lockout-20120922

External links

• Darryl Sutter's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database