Given he turns 59 this summer, has won a pair of Stanley Cups and coached over 1,000 NHL games, Darryl Sutter probably could’ve called it a career after getting fired by the Kings earlier this month, and done so comfortably.
But that’s not happening.
In speaking with TSN’s Gary Lawless, Sutter said he has no plans to retire from coaching. What’s more -- and, perhaps more interesting -- is that Sutter said he wouldn’t limit his next job solely to a contending team.
Sutter says he's willing to go to a rebuild, "if I have comfort with the situation," or to a contender. "I'm interested in both."
— gary lawless (@garylawless) April 27, 2017
Sutter: "Been lucky. But I'm not 30 and don't need to take the first job. If it's right for Chris, Wanda and myself, we'll give it a look."
— gary lawless (@garylawless) April 27, 2017
Currently, there are just two vacant coaching gigs in Buffalo and Florida. We wrote about the Panthers’ search earlier today (more on that here). The situation in Buffalo is more complex, as the Sabres need to hire a new general manager and coach. Logic suggests the GM will be hired first, then spearhead the new bench boss hire.
In that regard, Buffalo is pretty intriguing.
Though the Kings have yet to be contacted for an interview request, ex-GM Dean Lombardi has been tied to the Sabres gig. And Lombardi, of course, is forever tied to Sutter -- he was the one that hired Sutter after a five-year coaching exodus to join the Kings, and the pair went on to achieve great success together.
That five-year coaching exodus does need to be mentioned, though.
History suggests that Sutter isn’t joking when he says he’ll be picky about the situation and won’t rush to find the right fit. After being dismissed in Calgary in 2006, he returned to work on the family farm in Viking, Alberta and seemed fairly content doing so.
That said, hockey always seems to draw him back.
“The game has given us everything,” Sutter told Lawless. “We still have lots to give.”