Darryl Sutter

Darryl John Sutter (born August 19, 1958 in Viking, Alberta) is a retired Canadian professional forward and coach, and current head coach of the Calgary Flames in the National Hockey League. He is one of seven Sutter brothers, six of whom made the NHL (Brent, Brian, Darryl, Duane, Rich and Ron).

As a player, Darryl spent five years in the minor leagues, including a year in Japan, where he was rookie of the year. He stands 5 foot 11 inches and his playing weight was 176 pounds. Darryl was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1978 in the 11th round as the 179th pick overall. In his NHL career as a player, he suited up only for the Blackhawks and scored 279 points (161+118) in 406 career regular season games, plus 43 points (24+19) in 51 playoffs games. He was a well-respected, hard working left-winger but was never an all-star and never won the Stanley Cup. His last season as a player was in 1986–87.

On July 12, 2006, Sutter stepped down as the Calgary Flames head coach. 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, joining the Flames after head coaching stints in Chicago and San Jose. The Flames promoted Jim Playfair as Sutter's replacement, but after a first-round loss to the Detroit Red Wings in 06/07, Sutter hired Mike Keenan as head coach, with Playfair stepping back into an associate coaching role. Keenan was fired a month after the Flames were eliminated from the 2008-09 NHL playoffs at the hands of the Blackhawks. 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.