Brett Sutter announced his retirement today from professional hockey following a career that spanned 17 seasons including 1,090 American Hockey League and 60 National Hockey League regular-season games. While Sutter has stepped away from his playing career, he has not departed the Calgary Flames as the organization has signed him as an assistant coach with the Calgary Wranglers.
“Following 17 seasons as a player, I’m very proud and excited to leave the game and have the opportunity to step directly into this role with the Flames organization,” said Sutter. “Saying goodbye to playing isn’t easy, the game has treated my family and I so well for so long but the opportunity to stay within the organization that my family loves, makes this transition easier. I’m grateful to the Flames for the opportunity.”
“I’m excited to learn and grow quickly in this new capacity in professional hockey,” continued Sutter. “I’m looking forward to the transition while continuing to provide leadership in a coaching role and ultimately helping our prospects achieve their goal of playing with the Calgary Flames. I’d like to thank everyone who was part of my playing journey, especially my family and so many wonderful teammates and friends.”
In his new role, Sutter joins head coach Trent Cull and assistant coach Joe Cirella on the Wranglers bench.
Sutter, a native of Viking, AB, was originally drafted by the Flames in the sixth round (179th overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Following a four-year junior career with the Kootenay Ice and Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League, Sutter turned professional with the Flames’ American Hockey League affiliate in Quad City, Illinois in 2007.
“The combination of Brett just finishing his professional playing career and his leadership qualities as a captain for most of his AHL career, provides our coaching staff with valuable knowledge, relationships and experience,” said Flames Vice-President/Assistant General Manager and Wranglers General Manager Brad Pascall. “We look forward to Brett’s continued positive impact on our young players. We view it as a perfect fit.”
With 1,090 career AHL games to his record, Sutter sits in 4th place on the All-Time AHL career games played list. He celebrated his 1,000 AHL game on December 21, 2022, in his first season with the Wranglers. Sutter was the eighth player in the league’s 88-year history to reach that milestone. The other seven players are all members of the AHL Hall of Fame.
Over the course of his AHL career he recorded 198 goals and 265 assists for 463 points while accumulating 893 penalty minutes. In another 69 playoff games, he notched 11 goals and 22 assists for 33 points. During 17 seasons, Sutter was a captain of his respective teams for 10 years.
Sutter’s other AHL accomplishments include being named the recipient of the AHL’s Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award in 2018-19 as the player who best exemplifies the qualities of sportsmanship, determination and dedication to hockey and was selected to captain the Western Conference team at the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic.
Sutter made his NHL debut with the Flames on December 23, 2008, and scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game. He would go on to play 18 games with the Flames before a trade to the Carolina Hurricanes on November 17, 2010. He would play five seasons in the Hurricanes organization before signing as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild. He was once again traded to the Los Angeles Kings on February 29, 2016, where he would captain their AHL affiliate, Ontario Reign, for five of his seven seasons. He returned to his home province to sign for the inaugural season of the Calgary Wranglers on August 3, 2022. He would captain the Wranglers for his final two seasons of pro hockey.
Brett and his wife Erin have three children Olivia (10), Charlotte (8), and Bo (4), and look forward to continuing to call Calgary home year-round.