Ex-Calgary Flames defenceman hilariously describes contract negotiations with Darryl Sutter
Former Calgary Flames defenceman Rhett Warrener recently gave a great example of just how much the NHL has changed over the years.
Warrener enjoyed an impressive 714-game career, the final 231 of which were spent in a Flames jersey. His time with the Flames spanned from 2003 to 2008.
Warrener’s first two seasons with the Flames saw Darryl Sutter behind the bench as his head coach. Though Sutter stepped away from the bench after the 2005-06 season, he continued to serve as their GM until 2010. That meant that the now 68-year-old was the man in charge when it came to negotiating new contracts, though negotiating may be the wrong word.
Rather than in today’s NHL, where players seem to hold ultimate power, Warrener explained that negotiations back in his day, when playing with Sutter, were far, far different.
“It was extremely easy,” Warrener remarked on the Barn Burner podcast. “I walked in the room, there was a two-, a three-, and a four-year deal on the board. He goes, ‘You can have that, or that. Call your agent, let me know.'”
Negotiating a contract with Darryl Sutter is pretty straight forward š
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It’s a much different league today, with no better example than the Anaheim Ducks situation with Cutter Gauthier.
Gauthier, who has logged just 159 games in his NHL career, is reported to have rejected a four-year, $52-million deal earlier this month. Suffice to say, that wouldn’t fly back in the day with Sutter at the helm.
While Warrener didn’t seem to have any issue with the way Sutter went about business, he did joke that he wished he didn’t have to pay agent fees on that specific contract given that there were zero back-and-forths on the deal.
“I didn’t like paying my agent three per cent,” Warrener said. “That’s what the phone call should have been. I should have phoned and said, ‘Officially, you’re fired.'”
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