Craig Conroy has spent so much of his hockey life around the Calgary Flames that stories from his playing days still carry weight in the organization. And on a recent appearance on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, the Flames GM offered a perfect example of what it was like dealing with Darryl Sutter.
Conroy, who played 1,009 NHL games and logged 507 of them in a Flames sweater, said the moment came during one of Sutter’s runs behind the bench in Calgary. Sutter was ripping through the room, hammering players one after another, including Steve Montador.
“So Darryl came in, and he’d been there a while now, and he was ripping guys. He came in and was ripping [Steve] Montador, ripping [everyone]. He was just going around the room killing us,” Conroy explained.
Conroy said he finally had enough and pushed back.
“And I don’t know why I did it; I just got pissed off finally, and I stood up, and I said, ‘You’re supposed to be this great coach, Darryl. Why don’t you help us instead of just ripping us and telling us how bad we are, actually help us?'”
For a second, it looked like the move had worked. Sutter left the room and said he’d been waiting for someone to finally challenge him.
But the relief didn’t last. Sutter came back with the lineup card and made the point in the clearest way possible.
“He walks back in with the lineup. He goes, ‘[Blair Betts], take Conroy’s spot.’
I didn’t play the rest of the game,” Conroy said. “Two periods I sat on the bench, I’m like, ‘Why would I have said anything?
I am an idiot.'”
Conroy said he was a wreck after that, but the tension didn’t stick around for long. The next night, when the Flames played Edmonton, he was right back in the mix.
“We played Edmonton the next night, and I bet you I played 30 minutes. All was good.”
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For Calgary, that matters because Parekh is still one of the organizations most intriguing prospects, and the organization wants to see his game travel with him when the next level gets serious again. Conroy has seen enough lately to believe the reset is taking hold, and the real test will come once camp opens and Parekh has to show that the confidence hes rediscovered can hold up under NHL pressure. [Read more 🡒]