Sutter talks about All-Star coaching gig

Though he wasn’t able to speak as freely on Tuesday about the Columbus Dispatch report that pegged him as Columbus-bound, Darryl Sutter spoke in detail about being named as an All-Star Game coach along with Nashville coach Peter Laviolette, news that was announced by the NHL earlier today. The conversation took a turn towards the nature of coaching, Corey Crawford, and watching Dodger games with his son, Chris.

Darryl Sutter, on being named as an All-Star Game coach:
Yeah, it’s good. The teams that are in the finals the year before, the coaching staffs should always be in the All-Star Game. Because we haven’t had it for a while, it would’ve happened last time, too. It’s clearly, coaches – not on the me thing – but coaches don’t get very much, other than criticism. That doesn’t bother me, but for young guys or guys who are trying to make a career out of it- [Reporter: So it’s more of a reflection on how well the team’s done.] At the end of the day, coaches are only valued on playoffs, not on who’s a good interview or who had a surprise year. At the end of the day, I always do, I know who the best coaches are and I know the guys who are tough to coach against. Very seldom do they get recognized, and that’s the way they like it. Quite honest, for our staff, you know lots of the players, but it’s also an opportunity to see guys up close that you don’t know, too. Maybe you can learn a little bit. [Reporter: Along those lines, who would you like to coach, say, that you haven’t really spent much time around?] I couldn’t tell you…I think it should be like the old days. The team that won the Stanley Cup, all the players – it doesn’t matter what teams they’re on now – if the schedule wasn’t so hectic, they should take that. That was the way you did it. The team that won the Stanley Cup went and played an All-Star Game. That would be a way of recognizing the team, also. But in terms of who I’d like [to coach], I don’t even know who’s on it, other than who was popular. [Reporter: Half of Chicago.] And they should be. They’re the best team in the league. So if it’s based on this year, those guys should be on it. Was Crawford on it? [Reporter: Yes.] He’s one guy who hasn’t gotten enough credit for winning Stanley Cups. Even the year they beat us in the Conference Final, I thought he should’ve won the Conn Smythe. [Reporter: Will your family be going out with you?] Yeah. [Reporter: Is Chris excited?] Oh yeah. He’s running the show. I wasn’t going unless he could be a part of it because it’s important. He’ll enjoy it. He knows lots of guys too, so he’ll enjoy that. I know he’ll be really biased, though, towards the Kings. It’s like when the Dodgers strike out or there’s three outs, he says there’s only two outs, and the umpire was wrong on how many strikes or outs [there were]. There’s only two outs. There’s only two strikes.

Six players were voted on by fans to the All-Star Game: Forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, and goaltender Corey Crawford from the Chicago Blackhawks, and forward Zemgus Girgensons of the Buffalo Sabres. The rest of the rosters will be determined by the NHL and announced tomorrow.

All-Star Weekend opens with the skills competition on Saturday, January 24 at 4:00 p.m. PT and continues with the All-Star Game on Sunday, January 25 at 2:00 p.m. PT. Jonathan Quick was the only King selected to the last All-Star Game, which took place in Ottawa in January, 2012. Marian Gaborik, then of the New York Rangers, was named the game’s MVP.

NHL unveils 2015 All-Star game jerseys – http://t.co/x4lB8TTwij pic.twitter.com/Wyn0dbQOQo

— Comcast SportsNet (@CSNChicago) January 9, 2015