Darryl John Sutter is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward and the
current head coach of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. He
is one of seven Sutter brothers, six of whom made the NHL; all but Rich and Gary
worked alongside Darryl in some capacity during Darryl Sutter's tenure with the
Calgary Flames. Sutter has also coached for the San Jose Sharks and the Chicago
Blackhawks, the latter with which he spent his entire NHL playing career
with, from 1979 to 1987. Playing career
As a player, Sutter spent five years in the minor leagues, including a year in
Japan, where he was named rookie of the year. He stands 5 foot 11 inches and his
playing weight was 176 pounds. Sutter was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks at
the 1978 NHL Entry Draft in the 11th round, 179th overall. In his NHL career,
he suited up only for the Blackhawks and scored 279 points in 406 career regular
season games, in addition to 43 points in 51 Stanley Cup playoff games. His
last season as a player was in 1986–87. Coaching career
Sutter began his coaching career in the International Hockey League, 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. He 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, 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, he 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,
Sutter 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, Sutter was
named head coach of the Calgary Flames, replacing Greg Gilbert, who had been
fired by Calgary on December 3. In April 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 Sutter's job
responsibilities. In the 2003–04 season, his first full
season in Calgary, Sutter 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. Sutter and the Flames were unable to build-upon their surprise
success, however, as the entire following season, 2004–05, was cancelled
due to a lockout. On July 12, 2006, Sutter 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. Sutter 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, Sutter hired Mike Keenan as 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,
former coach of the New Jersey Devils, was selected as the new Flames coach in
June 2009. On December 28, 2010, Sutter resigned as the general manager of the
Flames. On December 17, 2011, the Los Angeles
Kings hired Sutter mid-season as the team's new head coach after the
dismissal of Terry Murray. Sutter's first game with the Kings was a December
22, 2011, shootout victory over rival Anaheim Ducks. He 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. Sutter and the 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, Sutter and the 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. Personal life
Sutter and his wife Wanda have three children, Brett, Jessie and Christopher.
In addition to his NHL responsibilities, Sutter also owns and maintains a 3,000
acre farm in Viking, Alberta, raising beef cattle. In February 1997, during
his hiatus from coaching, Sutter fell from a height of 12 feet while doing
repairs on the farm and suffered a skull fracture and a broken shoulder blade.
Career statistics Head coaching record
= NHL coaching record= = Minor league coaching record=
See also Captain
List of NHL head coaches Notable families in the NHL
References External links
Darryl Sutter's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database