Flames’ culture change hits the playoff spotlight starting Tuesday

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March 2021 has set the stage for April 2022.

Darryl Sutter readily allowed that when he was hired as the new head coach of the Calgary Flames midway through last season, he did not think the team would make the playoffs. 

He was right. The Flames finished fifth in the all-Canadian North Division – four points back of the Montreal Canadiens for the final playoff spot – after the pandemic-shortened 56-game 2020-21 season.

A self-admitted “Flames fan” before he was repatriated, Sutter’s objective over that stretch was instead to remake the culture of a franchise that had won just a single playoff series since making it to the 2004 Stanley Cup Final (a team Sutter himself coached). That culture transformation included how the players practiced and prepared, nutritional habits, and off-season fitness. The results of this metamorphosis, Sutter hopes, will be on full display for the hockey world during the 2022 playoffs.

Tuesday marks the next phase of the Flames’ culture remake – one that began 13 months ago and, Sutter, the diehard fan, hopes ends with a Stanley Cup parade. The Flames face the Dallas Stars in Round 1, with Games 1 and 2 set for Tuesday and Thursday in Calgary.

Sutter summed up the franchise’s shift recently as the group went from a relief mindset (relieved when they won) to a belief mindset (believing they could win) – and achieving sustained success would not come by outscoring opponents night after night, but in playing effectively away from the puck night after night.

“You have to have a foundation of accountability and checking and, at the same time, there still has to be freedom for the players in terms of using their skillsets,” he said.

“If you’re not a well-trained organization, you