Brent Sutter served as the New Jersey Devils head coach for two years, but his loyalty to his family is greater than his loyalty to his former employers. His brother, Darryl Sutter, is the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings and Brent has been feeding him information about his Stanley Cup opponents.
“How much of a tactical advantage could that be (laughter)?” Devils coach Peter DeBoer asked. He later added, “I’ve worked with Brent. Brent is great. We’re coaches. We rely on as many good coaches and smart people rely on as many people as they can when they get in these types of situations. That doesn’t surprise me. I’m sure Brent is a great resource for Darryl.”
DeBoer has gotten some outside help as well. He has sought the guidance of former Devils coach Jaques Lemaire.
“He knows the personnel inside out and has a good feel for the players,” DeBoer said. “They had success down the stretch last year playing a certain way. I relied on him early in the season and I still have regular phone conversations with him as late as a week ago.
“He’s a great resource for me to have in the organization. He laid the foundation defensively for this team last year. That’s why we’re capable of playing teams like the Rangers and L.A. and play in 1-1, 2-1 games on a regular basis.”
Of course the Devils haven’t been able to actually beat the Kings in a one-goal game yet. Los Angeles is up 2-0 in the Stanley Cup finals with Game 3 scheduled for Monday.