Louis Sutter, 73, Father to Brood Of Hockey Players
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Louis John Sutter, who watched six sons play in the NHL and two become head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, died Thursday in Viking, Alberta, Canada, following a lengthy illness. He was 73.
Louis and Grace Sutter raised seven sons in a 800-square-foot, four-bedroom house on a 1,400 acre farm near Edmonton. The oldest, Gary, was the only son not to play in the NHL.
All six Sutter brothers who made it to the NHL remained involved in hockey after their playing days. For five seasons in the 1980s, they all played in the league.
The 2000-01 season marked the 25th consecutive year that a Sutter brother was an NHL player. Collectively, they played in 4,994 regular-season games plus 603 in the playoffs. They combined for 1,320 goals, 1,615 assists and 7,224 penalty minutes.
Brian, 48, played for the St. Louis Blues and was hired as head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2001.
Darryl, 46, played for the Blackhawks through much of the 1980s,including five years as captain. He coached the Calgary Flames to the Stanley Cup finals last year.
Duane, Brent, and Rich also played for the Blackhawks. Duane, 44, is now director of player development for the Florida Panthers. Brent, 42, is the general manager and coach of the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels. And twins Rich and Ron, 41, are both pro scouts – Rich for the Minnesota Wild and Ron for the Flames.
