Mark Spector

Mark Spector is a columnist for sportsnet.ca

The Flames' recent struggles brings their leadership into question -- again.

"None of your business."

On Sunday night after being passed in the standings for the first time this season by their stiffest rivals, the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames coach Brent Sutter had little patience for some nosy sportswriters who wanted a peek inside the complex labyrinth that has become his team.

The question to Sutter, who met the media a full 50 minutes after the conclusion of a 5-1, home-ice loss to the Canucks, was whether his tardiness was caused by a lengthy post-game session with his players.

Experience tells us that question usually goes one of two ways.

You either get Sutter’s response, or the time honoured, "What the (bleep) do YOU think?"

"That being said," Sutter said later, "there are certainly some things in the next 24 hours that have to change if we want to even have a chance (Monday against Edmonton)."

What are those things?

"None of your business."

•••

On the strength of a Rene Bourque hat trick, the Flames rebounded with a 4-1 win at the home of the dead last Edmonton Oilers Monday night. If not for an all-world performance by Miikka Kiprusoff in goal however, the result may well have gone the other way.

So what Flames team will the L.A. Kings see Wednesday night at the Saddledome?

Excellent question, that.

There is a cryptic atmosphere that has engulfed this Flames team in Sutter’s maiden season at the helm, rife with innuendo and unspoken accusations. This is a good team — again — that has just lost nine points to the Canucks in the month of December.

"On paper we have a good team. On the ice we haven’t been," said Bourque, tying up the past four years of the Calgary Flames in a neat little 13-word package.

Mike Keenan, the coach who was supposed to come in and take this team over the top has come and gone. That he was never able to see eye-to-eye with assistant captain Robyn Regehr is a matter of public record.

With the tea leaves left to be read by the kind of quotes emanating from all corners of this club, we have only nuggets like that one to extrapolate on.

So…

If Keenan was unable to connect with the Flames leadership, perhaps Sutter is having the same problem. And if that’s the case, what are the chances of a team whose primary hurdle is to perform in the playoffs solving that problem without excellent leadership?

"I’m not getting into that," said Sutter when asked if he liked his leadership. "I think we have some quality people, quality leaders in that dressing room who right now are looking for guidance."

Can he help with that?

"Absolutely," he said. "That’s my job."

Nearing the halfway mark of their fifth season removed from that Stanley Cup run of ’04, the Flames are now framed by the fact that they have lost out in the first round for each of the past four seasons. They are San Jose light — not as strong a regular season force, so not quite the belly flop each spring that the Sharks have been.

But as one first-round exit washes into the next — and one coach replaces another, who replaces another — the players who wear the letters on this team come into question more and more.

"When you’re winning you get credit as a group of leaders. When you’re not, you get that responsibility. That’s fair," said Flames captain Jarome Iginla. "Look at the pieces we have. One of the top — if not the top — goalies in the world. Our defence group is right at the top.

"It’s fine; it’s fair," he said of the criticism. "At the same time, we know that teams do go through tough stretches. Better teams deal with it, and come out of it stronger."

The Flames went 7-4-1 in October, 10-2-2 in November, and were 3-6-2 in December prior to meeting the Oilers on Monday.

What happened?

"It’s some things that are deep-rooted that we need to continue to work on," Sutter said. "We’re sorting through this right know. I don’t know if frustration is the word. It’s concerning to me."

Sutter will tell you this:

"It has nothing to do with systems. Every team plays a lot of the same (systems). The ones that are more committed to it … are the ones where you find consistency on their game.

"I thought we were getting there three weeks ago. I was very complimentary to the players for the work ethic and commitment they had put in to get to that point. Yet we needed to keep our foot on the pedal.

"Now, that’s what we’re working on."

The impression we’re left with is that he will not make the mistake of patting this group on the back again, at least not any time soon.

But as usual we are all left to wonder if that’s the tact that will finally make the Calgary Flames as good on the April and May ice, as they always appear to be on paper.