I think we're all aware of the reports that came through Hammond, but as starved as we are for hockey news, a small story can be blown out of proportion once we start discussing it on internet boards.
To me, it seems Sutter was like Gunnery Sgt. Hartman: he was hard, but he was fair. I subscribe to a certain school of thought on the matter, but I realize I could be wrong. In order to be a Stanley Cup winning head coach, one has to not only have a mastery of the game, but they must also be able to read their players and know how to get their best out of them. Look what happened to Brown's numbers after having the C removed in the summer of 2016.
He saw a 25% increase in '16/'17, and had his best NHL season ever in '17/'18 with a .75 points per game average, and then in '18/'19, he was at .71 points per game.
--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ----
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
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2000-01 Guelph Storm OHL 53 23 22 45 50 4 0 0 0 10
2001-02 Guelph Storm OHL 63 41 32 73 56 9 8 5 13 14
2002-03 Guelph Storm OHL 58 34 42 76 89 11 7 8 15 6
2003-04 Los Angeles Kings NHL 31 1 4 5 16 -- -- -- -- --
2004-05 Manchester Monarchs AHL 79 29 45 74 96 6 5 2 7 10
2005-06 Los Angeles Kings NHL 79 14 14 28 80 -- -- -- -- --
2006-07 Los Angeles Kings NHL 81 17 29 46 54 -- -- -- -- --
2007-08 Los Angeles Kings NHL 78 33 27 60 55 -- -- -- -- --
2008-09 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 24 29 53 64 -- -- -- -- --
2009-10 Los Angeles Kings NHL 82 24 32 56 41 6 1 4 5 6
2010-11 Los Angeles Kings NHL 82 28 29 57 67 6 1 1 2 6
2011-12 Los Angeles Kings NHL 82 22 32 54 53 20 8 12 20 34
2012-13 Zurich SC Swiss 16 8 5 13 26 -- -- -- -- --
2012-13 Los Angeles Kings NHL 46 18 11 29 22 18 3 1 4 8
2013-14 Los Angeles Kings NHL 79 15 12 27 66 26 6 8 14 22
2014-15 Los Angeles Kings NHL 82 11 16 27 26 -- -- -- -- --
2015-16 Los Angeles Kings NHL 82 11 17 28 30 5 0 1 1 4
2016-17 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 14 22 36 22 -- -- -- -- --
2017-18 Los Angeles Kings NHL 81 28 33 61 58 4 0 1 1 4
2018-19 Los Angeles Kings NHL 72 22 29 51 24 -- -- -- -- --
2019-20 Los Angeles Kings NHL 66 17 18 35 22
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NHL Totals 1183 299 354 653 700 85 19 28 47 84
So assuming he was harder on Brown than other players, the logical question is: "why?" Well, each player should be treated differently because each player is different from his peers. This is a leadership fundamental that doesn't get discussed enough. It's entirely possible that the reason for the public nature of the dispute is because it would be more impactful on Brown's play...possible, not necessarily probable. It's that level of strategy that these coaches employ to be successful. So, long story short, being the professional that he is, I doubt that Brown harbors any hard feelings about it. It's pretty difficult to argue with the statistical improvement he saw YoY.
Oh, just in case somebody didn't get the Hartman reference: