Report - Several Flames players refusing to play for Darryl Sutter next year

Yesterday, Elliotte Friedman man waves with a rare public report of a player taking a stance against the team's coach. According to Friedman, Flames' star forward Nazem Kadri essentially placed the season's failure at the feet of head coach Darryl Sutter. Now, additional reports are surfacing that several players will demand trades if Sutter is still the coach of the Flames next season.

Sutter is known for being somewhat of a quirky farmhand that became an NHL coach - but he some of his antics and outdated tendencies have clearly frustrated his team. His low-event style of defensive hockey, extreme demands at practice, and events like intentionally misremembering Jakob Pelletier have caused him to lose the room.


According to new reports from Dean Molberg of The Nation Network, it's not only Kadri who has voiced significant discontent with Sutter. Several other Flames have made it clear that if Darryl Sutter is still the coach of the Flames next year, they will ask for trades.



With the Flames failure this season, in this the final year of GM Brad Treliving's contract, it's arguable that Sutter's impact this year may topple the entire front office. These reports about Sutter recall the events of Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuck choosing to leave Calgary, and the franchise altering effects that had on the team - which may have been again caused by discontent with Sutter. As it stands now, it seems like the entire front office of the Flames could see a shake up for this year's disaster.