The Calgary Flames recently extended head coach Darryl Sutter, keeping him away from his farm and instead on the ice. With the Flames in win-now mode, the continuity of bringing Sutter back for two more years means the Flames will have their best shot at winning the Cup with the least amount of turbulence behind the bench. After all, Sutter has the track record to prove it being a two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach.
700 wins for Sutter
Now, Sutter entered the 2022–23 just one game from a personal milestone—which if anyone knows Sutter, it’s probably not something he’s even keeping tabs of. He closed out the 2021–22 season with 699 career wins as a head coach, and now he’s reached the 700-win mark.
The Flames earned a 5–3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche to kick the season off going in the right direction. As the final buzzer went off, Sutter found himself tied with Mike Babcock as the 10th most winningest head coaches in NHL history.
Sutter’s record is now 700–503–101–94 (W–L–T-OTL).
| Team | Games Coached | W | L | T | OTL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHI | 216 | 110 | 80 | 26 | — |
| SJS | 434 | 192 | 167 | 60 | 15 |
| CGY | 210 | 107 | 73 | 15 | 15 |
| LAK | 425 | 225 | 147 | — | 53 |
| CGY | 113 | 66 | 37 | — | 12 |
Over five separate head coaching stints—and his second with Calgary—Sutter amassed the most wins with the Los Angeles Kings at 225 between 2011–12 through 2016–17. Much earlier in his coaching career, he reached 192 with the San Jose Sharks between 1997–98 and 2002–03.
When he first debuted as head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, he earned 110 wins from 1992–93—three more wins than his lowest win total as head coach of the Flames between 2002–03 and 2005–06.
Now in his latest go as a head coach, he’s earned 67 wins with the Flames so far. Realistically, he should expect to surpass his previous Flames win total this season, as it should be a easily hit 40 more wins if the Flames are to prove themselves playoffs worthy.
To 700 and beyond
This season, Sutter will have the opportunity to rise in the ranks among all head coaches. First, he can pass Alain Vigneault’s mark of 722 career victories, which hopefully comes sooner rather than later for the Flames. Sutter will also be chasing Peter Laviolette, who’ll be looking to increase his own total of 717 wins throughout the 2022–23 season with the Washington Capitals.
By season’s end, Sutter should be in sole possession of ninth place, with an outside chance of being eighth.
Here’s how the records look for Sutter and the coaches ahead of him, ranked by wins.
| Coach | W | L | T | OTL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotty Bowman | 1244 | 573 | 314 | 10 |
| Joel Quenneville | 969 | 572 | 77 | 150 |
| Barry Trotz | 914 | 670 | 60 | 168 |
| Ken Hitchcock | 849 | 534 | 88 | 127 |
| Lindy Ruff | 782 | 631 | 78 | 141 |
| Al Arbour | 782 | 577 | 248 | — |
| Paul Maurice | 776 | 680 | 99 | 130 |
| Alain Vigneault | 722 | 489 | 35 | 117 |
| Peter Laviolette | 717 | 468 | 25 | 140 |
| Mike Babcock | 700 | 418 | 19 | 164 |
| Darryl Sutter | 700 | 503 | 101 | 94 |
Leading the Flames to success
Sutter should find himself easily hitting the 800-win mark at some point during his current coaching tenure, given that he has at least three seasons to coach the Cup-contending Flames. We’ll see how long it takes him to get there.
Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
