CALGARY, Alberta - Darryl Sutter stepped down as head coach of the Calgary Flames on Wednesday and handed over coaching duties to assistant Jim Playfair.
Sutter will continue his role as Flames general manager. The move allows Sutter to focus more on his front-office duties.
"This is just a succession plan," Sutter said at a news conference. "Basically the lockout stalled it by a year."
Playfair has spent the last three seasons as a Flames assistant after two-plus seasons as head coach of the organization's AHL affiliate in Saint John, New Brunswick. He led the AHL club to the Calder Cup title in 2001.
"It's a great opportunity, coaching in the National Hockey League and coaching in a Canadian city," Playfair said.
Wayne Fleming was hired as an assistant. The former Canadian national team coach was an assistant under Ken Hitchcock in Philadelphia last season, and has also had stints with the New York Islanders and Phoenix Coyotes. Assistant coaches Rich Preston and Rob Cookson will stay, along with goaltending coach David Marcoux.
"And hiring Wayne Fleming was a real good experience to go through," Playfair said. "We're real lucky to have him here."
Sutter became coach of the Flames in 2002 and added the general manager title in 2003. But he hinted in the past that he would one day relinquish the coaching duties, citing the difficulty of doing both jobs.
Playfair inherits a team that has added star winger Alex Tanguay this offseason, a much-needed boost to an offense that was 27th in the league last season.
"I tell you what, I think we've got a great team and now we've got a great coach," Sutter said.
The 47-year-old Sutter led the Flames to a Stanley Cup berth in 2004, where they lost in seven games to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Calgary posted a 46-25-11 record this past season to finish third in the Western Conference, but lost to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in seven games in the first round of the playoffs.
Sutter compiled a 107-73-26 record in two-plus seasons behind the Calgary bench, joining the Flames after head coaching stints in Chicago and San Jose.
