Darryl Sutter is a typical Sutter: Loyal, honest, to the point.
So while the longtime member of the Blackhawks’ organization–as a player and coach–will forever have the Indian head logo tattooed near his heart, and forever hate the teal color of the team he now coaches, the San Jose Sharks, one thing was perfectly clear before the Hawks and Sharks met Saturday night.
“I have feelings for the organization, obviously,” Sutter was saying of the Hawks Friday afternoon. “But Saturday, I’m still going to be trying to kick their (behind).”
He may have been away from hockey for two years, but the drive and desire to win hasn’t left.
He departed the Hawks after the 1994-95 season to devote more time to the raising of his youngest son, Christopher, who was born with Down’s syndrome. The first year away, he couldn’t have cared less. But last season, with a number of races heating up for playoff spots, he got the bug again.
“I told my family last winter, life’s about change and if it’s about something that’s better for us, then we’ll do it,” he said.
With Christopher now 4 1/2 and showing positive signs of development, the time for a change occurred when the Sharks sought Sutter as their head coach in June.
“We did all we could for him,” he said of Christopher. “We wanted to take him where they’d be more aggressive with him and where we could get more time with him. We’re able to do that here.”
Being away from the game also gave Sutter a better perspective of how important family time is.
“Before I had a heck of a time doing that,” he said. “You have to be able to leave stuff at work once in a while.”
And when he goes to work Saturday, at least one family member will be cheering for the opposition–oldest son Brett.
“When I took the job here,” Sutter said, “he told me `Dad, I’ll always be a Blackhawk.’ “
Darryl Sutter will be too.
He’s back II: Another ex-Hawk, Jeremy Roenick, hopes to make good on his promise of bouncing back and having a big year. He came out smoking against his former club Wednesday, registering a goal and two assists. He looked like the Roenick of a few years ago, when he put together three straight 100-point seasons.
“That’s my goal,” he said. “I don’t want to say anything now. It’s one game. Obviously it’s easy to play one game. But the way I felt, especially against a team I’ve struggled against, I feel pretty confident going into the next few games.”
Roenick had an assist on a Rick Tocchet goal in the Coyotes’ 7-2 loss to St. Louis Friday night.
He’s back III: Mark Messier without the captain’s “C” on his sweater is like Ray Bourque not pulling on a Boston Bruins sweater. It just doesn’t happen. But when Messier was signed by the Vancouver Canucks in the off-season, they already had a veteran captain in Trevor Linden.
Well, Vancouver still has an experienced captain, but it will be Messier with the “C” after Linden turned over the honors Thursday.
“I didn’t want to make a quick decision,” said Linden, who had been the Canucks’ captain for six seasons. “I wanted to see how things played out and I thought it was the right thing to do.”
Speaking of captains, the St. Louis Blues named defenseman Chris Pronger, who will turn 23 Friday, as their captain. The New York Islanders did them one better, handing Bryan McCabe, who turned 22 in June, the “C.”
And the Rangers introduced defenseman Brian Leetch as their new captain before tying the Islanders Friday night.
Ouch, babe: Edmonton’s Doug Weight showed no ill effects Wednesday of the sprained neck he suffered during the exhibition season, scoring a goal and adding two assists in the Oilers’ season-opening victory over San Jose. Weight was questionable for the opener after a collision with Anaheim’s Jason Marshall left him in great pain.
“I’d wake up in the morning and my wrists are so sore it’s like I was carrying bricks all night,” Weight told the Edmonton Sun.”
He didn’t look bad against the Sharks.
Let’s settle: Ottawa holdout Daniel Alfredsson is willing to bend a little to make a deal with the Senators. The restricted free agent earned $650,000 Canadian his first two seasons in the NHL and he’s hoping for a two-year deal worth $5.1 million. Ottawa has countered with a five-year, $11 million offer. If he remains unsigned, he’s expected to catch on with an IHL team. Long Beach has offered him $251,000 a season.
Another holdout, Peter Bondra, rejoined the Washington Capitals on Friday but eventually hopes to renegotiate a new deal. He has three years left on his current contract that pays him $2.25 million this season.
Let’s not: Pittsburgh’s Petr Nedved may play in Europe this season if the Penguins don’t give in to his demands for $3 million a season. Among the others still holding out are Detroit’s Sergei Fedorov, Anaheim’s Paul Kariya, New Jersey’s Bill Guerin, San Jose’s Jeff Friesen and Phoenix All-Star Oleg Tverdovsky, whose agent, Don Meehan, has requested the Coyotes trade the defenseman.
Final Four: Nashville, which enters the NHL next season, is awaiting NHL approval on its nickname. The finalists are Ice Tigers, Tigers, Fury, and Attack.
Ice bits ‘n’ pieces: Former Wolves star Rob Brown, who led the IHL in scoring the last two seasons, earned a roster spot with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Wednesday’s opener marked his first game back in the NHL since playing two games for Los Angeles in 1994-95. He was an All-Star for the Penguins in 1989. . . . Boston’s crowd of 12,946 Thursday was the Bruins’ smallest for an opener since 1976. . . . Colorado defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh will miss at least two games after separating his right shoulder in the club’s season opener Wednesday. . . . Dallas defenseman Shawn Chambers isn’t expected back until at least mid-October after breaking his right hand. . . . The top three goal-scorers in the NHL over the last three years are Pittsburgh’s Jaromir Jagr (141), Washington’s Bondra (132) and Philadelphia’s John LeClair (127).
And finally: For all those picking Philadelphia to rebound from last season’s runner-up finish in the Stanley Cup and take it all this season, remember this: The 1984 Edmonton Oilers are the only team ever to win the Cup the year after losing in the finals.
