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Tuesday, December 28, 1999
Ugly still counts
Brian Sutter is used to the abuse.
When he was a player going into opposition rinks, they threw rocks, bullets and walnuts.
They yelled obscenities.
And occasionally, they sent death threats.
But what did it all mean to Sutter?
"I was doing my job well," he laughs.
Now, Sutter and his team are getting that same abuse from other teams, and particularly the coaches.
Kevin Lowe and his Oilers left here last week complaining the Flames were boring, their defensive style was suffocating the game.
Even Ottawa's Jacques Martin, the architect of one of the most frustrating styles in the game, took his shots.
Tongue firmly in cheek, Martin said after his team lost here: "That's great hockey isn't it? I guess you play the way you are allowed to play."
Sutter's response hasn't changed.
"The ultimate compliment is when the other team starts whining or complaining about your hockey club," said Sutter.
"The bottom line is we know that every situation on the ice comes down to a one-on-one battle and we are refusing to be outworked."
That mantra has proven effective for the Flames. Their loss last night came in the third period of the second half of back-to-back games, against a team that is physically overpowering.
They had no right to even be in the game after two periods, but to their credit, they found a way to be tied heading into the final period.
This is a team that has learned how to win.
It may be ugly. It may be boring.
But if it is successful, who cares?
You'll notice the one recent coach who didn't denigrate the Flames was Dallas' Ken Hitchcock. Why? His team won the Stanley Cup playing the same style. Has Martin in Ottawa, or Lowe in Edmonton?
"Everybody is just trying to win games 1-0," says defenceman Derek Morris.
"We can't go out there and play run and gun. We tried it before and it didn't work.
"They can say whatever they want about us. If they don't like it, tough! We're winning so what are we going to do, change our style? I don't think so.
"We play hard and I don't see what is so wrong with our style. We play the exact same way as Jersey -- tough defence and, when you get a chance go on offence."
At this, Morris' dressing room neighbour, Bobby Dollas, jumps up in.
"Are you kidding me?" says the well-travelled veteran.
"What's the big deal? Chicago and Boston have been playing that way for 25 years."
True enough.
But the criticism is proving something.
"I laugh at what Edmonton is saying because we have as good a skating team as them," says Sutter, whose team has asserted itself into the playoff race with good team defence.
"Edmonton beat us last year because we turned too many pucks over every game we played them. We are not doing that anymore.
"I love the whining though and our players love it.'
"When I got home after the Edmonton game, she (my wife) told me she heard their coach was complaining how we played and I just laughed. They're thinking about us. We are starting to gain respect around the league."
Respect comes only from success.
Calgary still has a ways to go, but take a close look at the standings and appreciate how far this team has come under Sutter -- the same coach many fans wanted fired earlier this season.
"At the end of the game, what counts is the wins. We have 36 points after 37 games and our team is proud of that.
"I'll tell you why Jacques Martin didn't like us. We did what they did, but harder.
"When you start talking about things like that, you are showing a weakness."
Because Sutter's defensive system and the team's execution of it has become the Flames' strength.
The abuse is the proof.
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