Darryl Sutter

Stanley Cup-winning coach and former Blackhawks captain

Darryl John Sutter (born August 19, 1958) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach of the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is one of seven Sutter brothers, six of whom made the NHL (Brian, Darryl, Duane, Brent, Rich and Ron); all but Gary (the seventh Sutter brother) worked alongside Darryl in some capacity during his first tenure with the Flames.

Quick Facts

Born

19 August 1958

Birthplace

Viking, Alberta, Canada

Coached for

Chicago Blackhawks
San Jose Sharks
Calgary Flames
Los Angeles Kings

Position

Left wing

Shoots

Left

Played for

Chicago Blackhawks

Draft

179th overall

Drafted by

Chicago Black Hawks

Lore & Background

As a player, Sutter, like his brothers, earned a reputation for high work ethic and aggressive, tough play as he suited up for more than 400 games. Sutter served as the captain of the Chicago Blackhawks for five years until injuries forced him to retire from professional hockey at age 28. In addition to the Flames, Sutter has served as the head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, and Los Angeles Kings. He coached the Kings to Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014 and is the winningest coach in their history. He also previously worked for the Flames in multiple capacities, serving as the team's head coach from 2002 to 2006 and general manager between 2003 and 2010. Sutter rejoined the Flames in 2021 for his second stint as the team's head coach.

Reader's Guide

Sutter grew up playing hockey near his home of Viking, Alberta, and like his brother Brian Sutter, he was coached and mentored by former NHL defenceman and Chicago Black Hawks coach Clem Loughlin. Sutter received an offer to try out for the Red Deer Rustlers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), following in Brian's footsteps. The Rustlers served as the starting point for all six Sutter brothers. Sutter joined the Rustlers in 1974–75, and in his three seasons, Sutter scored 114 goals and compiled 306 points in 176 games while the Rustlers failed to make the playoffs in each of Sutter's three seasons.

Sutter's 136 points in the 1975–76 season was good enough for third in league scoring, and the following season Sutter put up 133 points which led the AJHL. At the end of the 1976–77 season Sutter joined the Lethbridge Broncos of the Western Canadian Hockey League (WCHL), playing one regular season game and 15 playoff games. In the following season, Sutter appeared in 68 games for the Broncos, scoring 33 goals and compiling 81 points as the team finished first in the Central division.

Despite a strong showing in the WCHL, Sutter fell to the 11th round of the 1978 NHL entry draft where he was selected by the Chicago Black Hawks 179th overall. Sutter was dejected by his low draft position and felt an NHL career would not be possible. Pat Shimbashi the co-owner of the Lethbridge Broncos offered Sutter CA$13,000 to join the Iwakura Tomakomai of the Japan Ice Hockey League for the 1978–79 Season. Sutter put up 28 goals and 41 points in 20 games in the JPN, after which he returned to North America in February 1979 to join the Black Hawks American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate New Brunswick Hawks where the following season he was awarded the 1979–80 Dudley 'Red' Garrett Memorial Award for AHL rookie of the year after scoring 35 goals and 66 points in 69 games.

Did You Know?

Sutter's 40 goals in 1980–81 left him tied for 17th in scoring across the NHL, and he finished fourth in the Calder Memorial Trophy voting.
Sutter played through the 1983 playoffs with broken ribs.
In a January 2, 1984 game, Sutter was struck in the face by a deflected slapshot, knocking his left eye from the socket; he spent four days in the hospital and was out for six weeks.
Sutter scored two overtime game-winning goals in the 1985 playoffs against the Minnesota North Stars.
Despite playing only 406 NHL games, Darryl averaged 0.397 goals per game, the highest amongst the Sutter brothers.