Edmonton Oilers President Kevin Lowe denies having discussed coaching position with Brent Sutter-NHL
A question that has been on the minds of not only Edmonton Oilers fans, but also Calgary fans on whether the Oilers were in contact with former Flames head coach, Brent Sutter, over the vacant coaching position a little up North in Alberta, Canada.
Coming out for a rare interview, Edmonton Oilers’ president, Kevin Lowe, denied having gotten into contact with Brent Sutter on the topic but did not deny the possibility of having him behind the benches for the upcoming National Hockey League (NHL) regular
season.
After Tom Renney was surprisingly fired all of a sudden by Edmonton after having spent two failed seasons behind the bench, Brent Sutter’s name came up right away by analysts. According to many observers, Sutter would make for a befitting head coach but
the rivalry between Edmonton and Calgary could be hurdle in getting done with the job.
"He's Albertan. He knows the Battle of Alberta well," Lowe added.
Sutter is current coaching Team Canada in Finland for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Hockey Championship and could not be reached for comment.
"But more importantly, with the sacredness of the world championships and everything it means, he didn't need any distractions. He'd just come from the Flames, making the mutual decision that he wasn't going to continue to work with them, and he had a new
coaching staff and team to learn in a short time," Lowe said.
Lowe did not confirm anything related to filling the vacancy but did hint at when a new coach would be appointed and that would be most likely before the upcoming NHL draft later on in June after the Stanley Cup Finals are done and over with.
Edmonton Oilers have been struggling for many seasons and have not been able to get anywhere near the playoff line. Despite have had the top draft picks for the 2010 and 2011 NHL Entry Drafts, Edmonton has still failed to improve. Usually, they have an exceptional
start up to the year and decline as the season progresses.
Next season will be one which Edmonton has to improve on and a new coach seems to be the only answer to their worries at the moment.
Tags: