Darryl Sutter makes a bold statement about the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Calgary Flames head coach Darryl Sutter has always been a no nonsense type of character and that's why when he made some bold comments about the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier today it caused a few ears to perk up.

Sutter and the Flames will face the Maple Leafs on Saturday night and when Sutter was asked about the rival Canadian franchise ahead of tonight's game he had nothing but the highest of praise for the organization's top players.

"With Toronto, and I saw it last year, their top players, those guys have taken another whole level in terms of their leadership," said the Flames head coach. "They're by-example type players. It's so evident when you watch them."

Sutter's praise wasn't just limited to the Maple Leafs' top stars however, he praised the team as a whole while making a bold proclamation, labeling them as the team to beat in the National Hockey League at the moment.

"Toronto is on a really good roll, back-to-back shutouts, points in 13 straight," said Sutter. "Based on that, they're the best team in the league right now."

While Sutter's comments read as high praise of the Maple Leafs, and I have no doubt he was genuine in his assessment of their players, I suspect that there may be a message in those comments for Sutter's own players as well. The Flames head coach was very critical of the effort he received from his players on the first night of back to back games for the Flames this weekend, and he no doubt expects his own top players to lead by example and take it to the next level when they face the Leafs later tonight.