Darryl Sutter resigns as Calgary Flames general manager

With his team’s record among the worst in the Western Conference, Darryl Sutter resigned as general manager of the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

Assistant GM Jay Feaster was promoted to acting general manager and will be responsible for day-to-day hockey operations.

The decision could resonate within the organization. Darryl hired his brother Brent in 2009 to coach the team. Another brother, Duane, is the team’s director of player personnel.

Flames President Ken King lauded Darryl Sutter’s eight years in the organization. Sutter was also the club’s executive vice president.

“He was the leader that ignited a renaissance of Flames hockey, moving us from a nonplayoff team to an organization that was viewed as a respected and popular contender each year,” King said in a statement.

King said Feaster will handle the general manager duties until season’s end, and Sutter will “assist in an orderly transition.”

“We believe that while we continue to compete for a playoff position this season, this period will provide both the organization and Jay time to decide on critical future decisions,” King said.

Feaster joined the Flames last July. He captured a Stanley Cup as the Tampa Bay Lightning’s GM in 2004 and Calder Cup championship as president of the AHL’s Hershey Bears in 1997.

Entering Tuesday night’s games, the Flames (16-18-3) were fourth in the Northwest Division, five points ahead of last-place Edmonton.

Sutter, a 52-year-old Albertan, joined the organization in 2002, when he was hired as coach. He became general manager the following year. He gave up the coaching job in 2006 but remained GM.

The Flames are one of the oldest teams in the NHL with an average age of nearly 30. They’re also an expensive team, one at the salary cap limit.

The Sutter name is revered in the hockey community. Six Sutter brothers played in the NHL and four of them — Darryl, Brian, Duane, Brent — have all coached in the league as well.

When Darryl Sutter arrived in Calgary, the franchise was emerging from a dark time. A seven-year absence from the playoffs sent season-ticket sales into a tailspin in 1999 and 2000. A “Save the Flames” campaign by the team allowed the club to survive.

In Sutter’s first year in the dual role of coach and GM in 2003-04, the Flames reached the Stanley Cup final and lost to Tampa Bay in seven games. During that run, then-Prime Minister Paul Martin called them “Canada’s team.”

The Montreal Canadiens have strengthened their blueline by signing defenseman James Wisniewski from the New York Islanders for two draft picks, the team said.

The 26-year-old, New York’s leading defenseman this season with a career-high 21 points from three goals and 18 assists, will join Montreal on Wednesday in Tampa Bay.

New York will receive Montreal’s second-round pick in 2011 and a conditional fifth-round selection in 2012 in exchange.

Kyle Palmieri had two goals and an assist in leading the U.S. Junior hockey team to a 6-1 win over Slovakia in a preliminary round game of the world championships at Buffalo, N.Y.

Charlie Coyle had a goal and two assists while Jack Campbell had a relatively easy night, stopping 17 shots in a game the defending gold-medal winners outshot the Slovaks 57-18.

Chris Brown, Drew Shore and Emerson Etem also scored as the Americans built a 4-0 lead on 35 shots less than 12 minutes into the second period. Palmieri and Etem are Ducks prospects.

The U.S. is coming off a tournament-opening 3-2 overtime win over Finland, and took over first place in the Group A pool with five points with two games left.

Tomas Jurco scored for Slovakia, which was coming off a 2-1 overtime win over Germany a day earlier.

Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. finished seventh in the women’s World Cup giant slalom in Semmering, Austria, allowing Germany’s Maria Riesch to take over the top spot in the overall skiing standings.

France’s Tessa Worley won her third straight giant slalom, finishing her two runs in a combined time of 2 minutes, 9.66 seconds. Riesch finished second, 0.62 second back, and Kathrin Hoelzl was third, another 0.16 seconds behind her fellow German.

American Julia Mancuso was fifth, and Vonn, who’s won the overall title three times in a row, finished nearly 1 1/2 seconds behind Worley.

Florida International University baseball star Garrett Wittels and a group of friends were arrested in the Bahamas last week and charged with the rape of two 17-year-old girls.

The incident allegedly happened at the Atlantis Resort and Casino in Paradise Island on Dec. 20. Wittels and two friends were each released on $10,000 bond after a court hearing Thursday.