As had been speculated, it looks like Darryl Sutter has decided to become a full-time GM, with Jim Playfair tabbed to be his replacement on the bench.
My take? Good move. The task of being a general manager in a competitive, salary-capped league must be pretty consuming...not that being a head coach is a walk in the park either. In fact, Im not quite certain how Sutter managed to do both (rather well) last year.
As for Playfair, he's been groomed under Sutter for the last three years. Previously, he guilded the St. John's Flames to the Calder Cup in 2001. His experience as both a head coach and assistant coach within the Flames organization should serve him well going forward - not to mention the rapport he will undoubtedly share with the boss upstairs. All that's left now is to hope Playfair can coax a little more offense out of the guys on the ice...
