Sutter Mum About His Future

Neil Becker

Two days after getting eliminated from the playoffs in heartbreaking fashion, New Jersey Devil’s coach Brent Sutter didn’t want to address the constant rumours about him not being behind the New Jersey bench next fall.

During this past winter constant rumours were making the rounds that Sutter who has one season remaining on a three -year contract wanted to go back home to Western Canada and that he missed his farm.

“I’m not trying to be disrespectful to anbody or anything,” Sutter said. “It’s just that it’s not something that I’ve given it much time at this point.

“You guys have heard a bunch of stuff out there that are rumours, and I told you at that time and I’m saying it again: I evaluate myself at the end of the year and there’s a process I go through to do that.”

Sutter who has been in hockey his entire life referred to the gut wrenching game 7 loss against the Carolina Hurricanes last week as the toughest thing he has ever gone through. New Jersey who have not gotten past the first round in consecutive springs were only 90 seconds away from winning the series before having the roof cave in by allowing two goals. 

“To be quite honest, I’m still thinking about what transpired to us here less than 48 hours ago,” Sutter said. “There’s a process you go with that. Like I said, it’s been the most difficult thing that’s ever happened to me in my hockey career as a player or a coach.”

When asked about surrendering the two goals in less than two minutes, Sutter was at a loss of words in explaining what happened.

“I said to Lou (Lamoriello Devils president and general manager) this morning this was like a 100-yard dash for our first race,” Sutter said. “I felt we got to the 99-yard mark and we fell down when we had the lead. There is no way to explain it.”

Lamoriello whose Devils last won the Stanley Cup in 2003 wouldn’t get into talking about Sutter’s future.

When the players were asked about it a lot of them didn’t even know that there was a question about whether or not he would be coming back.

“Is there a question about him coming back?” captain Jamie Langenbrunner said.  ‘I don’t know anything about that.”