Sutter says Treliving 'should have known' American players would leave Calgary Flames
The 2022 offseason is one that the Calgary Flames fan base will forever be haunted by.
Shortly after being eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers, Johnny Gaudreau left the organization in favour of the Columbus Blue Jackets. It got even worse, as GM Brad Treliving was forced to trade Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers soon after.
Both moves blindsided the fan base, as most believed the two players were going to stick around for the long haul. Their coach at the time, however, felt a different way.
In a recent interview on The Cam and Strick Podcast, Darryl Sutter opened up on his second stint behind the Flames’ bench, and while doing so, made it clear he wasn’t surprised either player left.
“The writing was on the wall. Management should have known right away that those kids weren’t coming back. That shouldn’t have been a surprise in July,” Sutter explained. “They were both on expiring contracts, and Canada was not their thing. They didn’t leave because they didn’t like Calgary or they didn’t like the team. They wanted to go back home, and I didn’t blame them.”
Sutter also made it clear that he thinks both players being isolated from their families due to the COVID-19 pandemic played a big part in their decision.
“I had a soft spot for those boys,” Sutter said on Gaudreau and Tkachuk. “Those American kids, they were basically stranded in Canada. Nobody could come see them. They couldn’t go out. Friggen Matthew, he’d beat me to the rink in the morning, and he’d stay there all day. There was nothing to go home to. I felt so sorry for those kids.”
Both players leaving had a massive impact on the Flames, who are now in the midst of a rebuild. The good news, however, is that management has done an excellent job so far in this rebuild, meaning it may not be too long before they are a competitive team once again.