2010-11 Calgary Flames Preview: Darryl Sutter's Frankenstein

Filed under: Flames, WesternA year ago, the Calgary Flames were among the favorites to win the Northwest Division. It turned into troubling year on the ice under a new head coach, as they fell out of the playoff race early in 2009-10. They followed it up with an offseason that, to put it lightly, irked many of their fans. As the saying goes, this should be a make or break year for the team, for its management and its future.

Under the reign of General manager Darryl Sutter, the Flames' mastermind has engineered a sort of Frankensteinian roster. It's such an odd mix of parts: enigmas returning for a second go-around, aging superstars still in their prime, a few bricks with pricey contracts, a few former Leafs, and, to top it all off, Calgary is over the cap after missing the playoffs last year.

OK, maybe that one about the Leafs was a cheap shot, but last season tested the patience of the fans, many of whom were already in Sutter's opposing corner (think villagers finally lighting their torches). After the moves he made in the offseason -- the most notable being reacquiring two players, Olli Jokinen and Alex Tanguay, who left on bad terms the first time around -- Sutter didn't make any new friends and only angered his enemies more (that's the sound of the villagers approaching the castle). This will be Sutter's seventh season as Calgary's boss. It's hard to imagine him having any more chances to turn this around if it doesn't work out in 2010-11. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

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