I was encouraged with Mike Keenan was brought out since, after their abysmal season with Playfair, I thought Iron Mike’s style might whip the boys into shape.  From the outside, it looks like Keenan made Miikka Kiprusoff stressed, Dion Phaneuf weak and the locker room intense.  I like the Flames’ reputation as a hard-working, aggressive team but they just seemed angry these past two seasons.

Now Sutter, who is the team’s GM, has brought his brother Brent Sutter out from the New Jersey Devils and while I want to be optimistic, I’m a little worried.  First of all, just because they happen to be brothers doesn’t mean that they are the same person.  The roster was a little different under Daryl and it’s anyone’s guess as to whether this new team will respond well to Brent’s slower-paced style.

Plus, there is the sibling element.  I know the Sutters are close but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to be smooth sailing.  Sometimes being related makes things even more emotional so we could see some potentially massive blowouts between the brothers.  Hopefully, though, they will be able to work together because there is no reason why this team should be sucking the way it has in the playoffs.

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Since there was still a year left in Sutter’s contract with New Jersey, Lou Lamoriello (GM of the Devils) will have to give the Flames organization permission to talk to him.

After the leadership in these fast few seasons, first with Jim Playfair and then with Mike Keenan, the Flames might be receptive to Sutter’s coaching style.  Of course, since the team’s GM is Brent’s brother, Darryl Sutter, this could either be disastrous (certainly not the time for old sibling rivalries to flare up) or a great thing for the club who has failed to make it past the first round of the playoffs since they went to Game 7 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. 

With many of the core players still in place (Iginla, Conroy, Regehr and Kiprusoff), there’s no reason why they couldn’t make the push again.  The goaltending situation needs to be addressed, though.  The Flames don’t have a proven netminder to back up Miikka Kiprusoff who has never been as sharp as he was the he first joined the team.  No matter how they choose to approach it, the Flames will need someone more dependable between the pipes and only time will tell whether that will come in the form of Kipper getting back on top of his game or if they will have to bring in someone new.

Either way, I am looking forward to the changes that this team will introduce in the new season since, after the entire coaching staff was fired, they will basically have a fresh start.

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Of course, everyone is wondering if he’s going to be making a move to the recently vacant head coach position with the Calgary Flames since the general manager is his brother, Darryl Sutter.  Since he’s breaking his contract, the Flames would have to talk to New Jersey Devils’ GM, Lou Lamoriello, in order to get permission to speak with Brent Sutter.

I don’t know if that is the plan but it could work.  I would prefer to see Darryl lead the team but Brent does have playoff experience and since he coached the Devils for just two years and lead them to the post-season both times.  They have a decent 97-56-11 record as well.  Still, it’s not like he brought his team to the Stanley Cup Finals (like Darryl did) so it might not even be much of an improvement.

I’d still like to see Darryl reclaim his spot behind the bench.  I feel that we would see a marked improvement in the performance of goaltender, Miikka Kiprusoff, who seemed to just fall apart with the last two coaches.  I will be very interested to see what develops in the next few days.

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At today’s press conference, I was expecting him to announce the new head coach but he not only didn’t find one but he also revealed that he believes he’s the best man for the job.  He stressed that he’s still looking at other candidates but mentioned that "all the best coaches in the league are under contract. There’s three guys who are excellent. I won’t tell you who they are, but then I’m fourth.  If I find out at the end of the search that I think I’m the best candidate, then I am the coach."

I know that some people would disagree with it but I think it’s a good move, especially if all of the staff is leaving.  The players need some sort of familiarity.  Either way, this situation definitely took a turn that I wasn’t expecting.

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I can’t say that I’m shocked but I am a little nervous.  The last few seasons have been rough for the Flames in terms of coaching and, truly, they had enough talent to go a lot further but they just haven’t been able to get past the first round of the playoffs since they made their run for the Stanley Cup in 2004.   Since then, the team has suffered at the hands of Jim Playfair and then Mike Keenan, who took over as head coach on June 14, 2007.   Since then, the Flames have posted a record of 88-60-16 and have made it to the playoffs twice but failed to get past the quarterfinals.

To be honest, I’d really like it if Sutter relinquished his GM duties and resumed his place behind the bench.  He is an excellent coach and star players like Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff respond really well to his style. 

NHL.com is reporting that the team will hold a press conference on Tuesday. 

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