FORT WORTH, Texas — On Wednesday morning, the Dallas Stars did what this franchise does better than any other not only in the National Hockey League, but also all of sports.
No franchise can hire a new coach like the Stars.
The Stars are on their eighth full-time head coach since 2009.
Dave Tippett. Marc Crawford. Glen Gulutzan. Lindy Ruff. Ken Hitchcock (again). Jim Montgomery. Rick Bowness. Peter DeBoer.
In that time the other three pro sports teams in our back yard, the Dallas Mavericks, Texas Rangers and Dallas Cowboys, have combined for eight different head coaches/managers.
The Dallas Cowboys hired Wade Phillips, Jason Garrett and now Mike McCarthy. The Texas Rangers had Ron Washington, Jeff Banister and now Chris Woodward. The Dallas Mavericks had Rick Carlisle, and now Jason Kidd.
More than any other pro sports league, the NHL treats a head coach like a pair of skates, or a stick. Just find another one, and see what happens.
The Dallas Stars “newest” stick is Mr. Peter DeBoer, who was introduced on Wednesday at American Airlines Center.
He fits the mold of the classic, retread NHL head coach. He’s good enough to be hired, and disposable enough to be fired.
He’s coached more than 1,000 games. He’s been to two Stanley Cup Finals.
He’s fine.
Unlike previous hires under Stars GM Jim Nill, he didn’t have much choice to do anything other than exactly what he did. Because he can’t be back here in another two years introducing another new guy.
“We really peeled the banana back for this,” he said Wednesday.
According to people familiar with the coaching search, shortly after Bowness left the team following its Game 7 first-round playoff loss to Calgary, the Stars’ list of candidates reached approximately 35 names.
They could not go to the college ranks. Not after how the Jim Montgomery era finished.
They could not take a risk and go with a European, or even junior level coach, like a Gulutzan.
They had to find someone who could talk to the Stars’ veterans, namely Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, and deliver the hard truth: despite their massive contracts, they no longer produce enough to justify top line minutes.
This team now belongs to guys like Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen.
A new coach who did not come with a wealth of NHL head coaching experience would risk alienating the entire locker room when delivering that message that is effectively a demotion.
Shortly after Bowness left the team, Stars veteran forward Joe Pavelski immediately reached out to the club management and started lobbying for DeBoer.
Pavelski played for DeBoer when they were in San Jose together. And Pavelski has become the de facto second captain of the Stars next to Benn.
Nill was going to listen to Pavelski, because that entire roster listens to him.
Whether this hire works depends more on his young players, and the prospects coming up, than his message, style and philosophy.
The Stars are his fifth head coaching job since 2009. He’s coached Florida, New Jersey, San Jose and Vegas.
He promises to “unlock” the Stars’ scoring potential.
The Stars are a good team; they’re a playoff team, which in today’s NHL is an achievement.
Watch five minutes of the Stanley Cup Final between Colorado and Tampa Bay, however, and you will soon see the real line of demarcation.
The Stars can’t score at the pace of a Tampa or Colorado. The only reason the Stars reached Game 7 against Calgary is goalie Jake Oettinger.
The Stars put the offense in offensive.
A coaching change, and philosophy, may bump the Stars’ scoring up .5 goals per game.
What they really need is a few more players, which they insist are on the way.
What they don’t need again is another coaching change.
