The saga of Jakob Pelletier and Darryl Sutter in Calgary and the signing of Rick Tocchet by the Vancouver Canucks while having multiple Quebec coaches available, including Patrick Roy, proved once again that Quebec is despised in NHL closed circles .
It’s been a week and I’m still red with anger as I think back to Sutter’s testimony after Jakob Pelletier’s first career NHL game on Jan. 21. And what annoys me even more is that even the next day he never apologized, never set the record straight by explaining it was a joke. No one defended the young Pelletier in the Flames’ wake.
Watching the team’s general manager Brad Treliving not speak up to defend his 2019 first-round pick showed me one thing: he has no power over his coach, and Sutter was leading.
I’ll say it like I think it: Sutter acted the way he did with Pelletier because he was Quebecois. If you don’t agree with me, look at the treatment Jonathan Huberdeau has received since arriving in Calgary. We give him $80 million and let him play 15 minutes a game with Milan Lucic…
That’s not serious.
It makes me sad for Jakob Pelletier, who gets high every time we make him an offer every time I’ve seen him play. I hope his agent is carefully monitoring the situation. We have to make it clear to the Flames management that if things don’t change, they will demand a swap.
I’ll bet you the Canadian would love to add him to their lineup.
What Darryl Sutter does is bullying, and Pelletier—like Huberdeau, incidentally—deserves better.
CHUMS
Sutter is overwhelmed and ripe for retirement. But these coaches continue to find jobs in the NHL because the majority of managers are from Ontario or western Canada.
Meanwhile guys like Patrick Roy or Bob Hartley are free and the phone doesn’t ring. In Vancouver, we decided to fire Bruce Boudreau and went back to the old coaching bag by hiring Rick Tocchet.
What’s wrong ? Roy just earned his 500th QMJHL win and he’s the fastest in history to hit that milestone in 815 games.
Has his controversial exit from Colorado hurt him? Perhaps. But let’s bet if he was from Alberta we’d be a lot more likely to give up.
RETIRED ? NO !
He can say what he wants about his future, I think it’s unthinkable to see him retire. If we call him to work in the NHL, I’m sure he’ll listen. The passion is still there and he doesn’t have to prove anything in the junior ranks anymore. If you get 500 wins, you are a career coach. It’s no coincidence.
But no, we’ll keep finding excuses not to hire him.
-Comments collected by Kevin Dubé
Echoes of Bergie
EXCHANGE ALL?
I was very surprised to see Jake Allen in the starting XI against the Detroit Red Wings last Thursday night. Samuel Montembeault has established himself as the team’s number one goalkeeper in my eyes and he has the numbers to prove it. However, as I thought about it, I asked myself this question: what if we let him play to make a better trade-off? Allen is older than Montembeault, has a bigger contract and is nowhere near the Quebecois this season. Obviously we want to put it in the showcase and show it to the other teams hoping for a decent offer.
THE BEAUTIFUL STORY
You know the treatment of Quebecers in the NHL is an issue close to my heart, and the Chronicle proves it. What a joy to see Rafaël Harvey-Pinard flourish since being recalled by the Habs! Another young Quebecer who was repeatedly ignored in the repechage and ended up exceeding expectations. If he was born in Ontario, would a team have taken the risk of drafting him at 17 or 18? The question is valid. I like to see him, as does Alex Belzile, fighting for the team. For them, there is no room for maneuver and they have no choice but to give their all at every performance. Some veterans should take notes…
AVALANCHE OF INJURIES
When Gary Bettman mentioned this week that he didn’t feel teams in his league were losing on purpose to improve their chances at Connor Bedard, I smiled. Rarely have I seen so many injured players at this stage of a season for the remainder of the season. It’s terrible with the Canadian: Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Jake Evans and possibly Brendan Gallagher. Does anyone really think that rosters aren’t pushing a little harder to get their players operated on so they’re ready next season when a player like Bedard is up for draft?