| Darryl Sutter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 19, 1958 Viking, Alberta, Canada |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) |
| Position | Left Wing |
| Shoots | Left |
| Played for | New Brunswick Hawks Chicago Blackhawks |
| NHL Draft | 179th overall, 1978 Chicago Blackhawks |
| Playing career | 1979–1987 |
Darryl Sutter (born Darryl John Sutter on August 19, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward and the current head coach of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL).
During his playing career, he played for the Chicago Blackhawks from 1979 to 1987.
Playing Career[]
As a player, Darryl spent five years in the minor leagues, including a year in Japan, where he was named rookie of the year. He was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks at the 1978 NHL Entry Draft in the 11th round, 179th overall.
In his NHL career, Darryl 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[]
Darryl 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.
Darryl 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, Darryl 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.
After a two-year hiatus from coaching, Darryl 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.
On December 28, 2002, four weeks after he was fired by San Jose, Darryl was named head coach of the Calgary Flames, replacing Greg Gilbert, who had been fired by Calgary on December 3rd.
In April of 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 Darryl's job responsibilities.
In the 2003–04 season, Darryl's first full season in Calgary, he 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.
However, Darryl and the Flames were unable to build-upon their surprise success due to the 2004-05 NHL season being canceled due to a lockout.
On July 12, 2006, Darryl 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. He 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, Darryl hired Mike Keenan as the 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 (the former coach of the New Jersey Devils) was selected as the new Flames coach in June of 2009.
On December 28, 2010, Darryl resigned as the general manager of the Flames. On December 17, 2011, the Los Angeles Kings hired him mid-season as the team's new head coach after the dismissal of Terry Murray.
His first game with the Kings was a December 22, 2011, shootout victory over rival Anaheim Ducks.
Darryl 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.
Darryl and the L.A. 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, Darryl and the L.A. 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.
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 | ||||
Coaching Record[]
NHL Coaching Record[]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| CHI | 1992–93 | 84 | 47 | 25 | 12 | — | 106 | 1st in Norris | Lost in first round |
| CHI | 1993–94 | 84 | 39 | 36 | 9 | — | 87 | 5th in Central | Lost in first round |
| CHI | 1994–95 | 48 | 24 | 19 | 5 | — | 53 | 3rd in Central | Lost in third round |
| SJ | 1997–98 | 82 | 34 | 38 | 10 | — | 78 | 4th in Pacific | Lost in first round |
| SJ | 1998–99 | 82 | 31 | 33 | 18 | — | 80 | 4th in Pacific | Lost in first round |
| SJ | 1999–2000 | 82 | 35 | 30 | 10 | 7 | 87 | 4th in Pacific | Lost in second round |
| SJ | 2000–01 | 82 | 40 | 27 | 12 | 3 | 95 | 2nd in Pacific | Lost in first round |
| SJ | 2001–02 | 82 | 44 | 27 | 8 | 3 | 99 | 1st in Pacific | Lost in second round |
| SJ | 2002–03 | 24 | 9 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 5th in Pacific | Fired after 24 games |
| CGY | 2002–03 | 46 | 19 | 18 | 8 | 1 | 47 | 5th in Northwest | Missed playoffs |
| CGY | 2003–04 | 82 | 42 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 94 | 3rd in Northwest | Lost in Stanley Cup final |
| CGY | 2005–06 | 82 | 46 | 25 | — | 11 | 103 | 1st in Northwest | Lost in first round |
| LA | 2011–12 | 49 | 25 | 13 | — | 11 | 95 | 3rd in Pacific | Won Stanley Cup |
| LA | 2012–13 | 48 | 27 | 16 | — | 5 | 59 | 2nd in Pacific | Lost in conference finals |
| LA | 2013–14 | 82 | 46 | 28 | — | 8 | 100 | 3rd in Pacific | Won Stanley Cup |
| LA | 2014–15 | 82 | 40 | 27 | — | 15 | 95 | 4th in Pacific | Missed playoffs |
| Totals | 1121 | 547 | 414 | 109 | 61 | ||||
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 |
Personal Life[]
Darryl is one of the seven Sutter brothers (six of whom made it to the NHL): Brent, Brian, Duane, Rich, Ron and Gary. All the brothers (except for Rich & Gary) worked alongside with Darryl in some capacity during his tenure with the Calgary Flames.
He and his wife Wanda have three children: Brett (who was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft and currently plays for the Ontario Reign in the AHL) Jessie and Christopher.
In addition to his NHL responsibilities, Darryl also owns and maintains a 3,000 acre farm in Viking, Alberta, raising beef cattle.