The NHL's worst kept secret

Well, if there are any sports fans out there who were suprised to hear the news yesterday that my beloved Flames announced Brent Sutter as their head coach; I have one question for you. Have you been in a coma for the last 4 months? This was officially the worst kept secret in hockey. This was believed to be the scenario by many sports analysts and yours truly since March, yet the brothers Sutter tried to play coy with the notion. It was inevitable though as the Sutters are the royal family of hockey in Alberta. For those of you who aren't aware of how obvious this was, let me point out a few facts. First off, four of the seven Sutter brothers who played professional hockey already work for the Flames in different capacities (GM, scouts, player development, etc.). Brent has a farm near Red Deer, AB where his family is situated. He also is the owner and GM of the minor league Red Deer Rebels. To top this all off, you are being given an opportunity to coach one of the most stacked teams in the NHL. So Brent's choice was stay in New Jersey with a team just starting to bring itself back into relevance, with a long way to go yet, or coach a contender on the verge of going all the way, in a family business atmosphere. Can you really blame him for ditching out on the Devils for the Flames?

Anyhow, I'm very excited for this move to begin paying off. I think there is no doubt that the Flames are going to be a top tier team this year. I would be shocked if we don't celebrate a cup or two before his time with us is up. GO FLAMES GO!