Flames Jakob Pelletier Takes Jab At Ex-Coach Darryl Sutter

Calgary Flames forward Jakob Pelletier may have a new head coach in Ryan Huska, but that doesn't mean he hasn't forgotten the hell that ex-coach Darryl Sutter put him through. Remember this?

Here are Sutter's comments on Pelletier's debut tonight.

Not sure why he has to be so sarcastic and negative about Pelletier. The kid just played in his first game and played really well in it.

Can't he say one nice thing? pic.twitter.com/BVyhXDyOT2

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) January 21, 2023

Sutter embarrassed the Flames rookie last season after the shifty winger had himself a nice game, scoring a goal and helping out Calgary's offense. This season Pelletier is happy to move on and he even changed his number from #49 to #22 for a legit fresh start. Turns out Pelletier has jokes too. When asked about the reasoning behind the jersey swap, Pelletier gave a lighthearted response:

I think it's easier for the coaches to kind of know the No. 22 (than) the No. 49.

Make no mistake about it, the Flames dressing room was pissed off over Sutter's comments and this was one of the many reasons the team was very happy to have a new bench boss to start the 2023-24 season.

Funny enough, when GM Craig Conroy called Pelletier to ask him what jersey he'd like, his response made Conroy laugh:

I called him in the summer and I said, 'What number do you want?. And he said, 'Well, if I could pick any number, I'd take 22.' I said, 'Ooh, you might be kissing a little butt here.' He's like, 'What?' I told him, 'That was my number!' He didn't know that.

It's nice to see the Flames having fun again and look for Pelletier to be a key compliment to the secondary scoring in Calgary this season and beyond. Sans Sutter of course.

Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports