FRISCO, Texas -- Pete DeBoer was fired as coach of the Dallas Stars on Friday.
“Today was a tough day," Stars general manager Jim Nill said. "I spoke with Pete this morning at 9 o’clock. Great conversation, he was very professional and he understands. We have a good relationship and that’s probably what makes this the hardest.
"I have the utmost respect for him as a person and as a coach. In the end, it’s my responsibility to make a decision that’s the right decision for the organization moving forward.”
No replacement was named.
DeBoer guided Dallas to a 50-26-6 record this season and led the Stars to the Western Conference Final for the third straight season. However, the 56-year-old was critical of goalie Jake Oettinger in a Game 7 loss to the Edmonton Oilers in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final on May 29, pulling the team's No. 1 goalie after he allowed two goals on two shots 7:09 into the first period.
"The reality is, if you go back to last year's playoffs, he's lost six of seven games to Edmonton and we gave up two (goals) on two (shots) in an elimination game," DeBoer said of Oettinger. "It was partly to spark our team and wake them up and partly knowing that status quo had not been working. And that's a pretty big sample size."
Two days later, DeBoer clarified those comments.
"No one is a bigger fan of Jake Oettinger than me, as a person or a goalie," DeBoer said when the Stars held their end-of-season media availability on Saturday. "Does that mean he can't be coached or he doesn't have growth in him? Absolutely [not], he's a young goalie."
During Dallas' final availability, Oettinger said being removed from the game was "embarrassing," but said he chose to use the experience to help him grow as a goalie, both mentally and physically.
"Any time you get pulled, doesn’t matter if it’s the playoffs or the regular season, you just want to go right off the ice and crawl into your bed and not talk to anyone," he said.
"I wasn’t expecting that to happen. It was surprising. But the reality is, if I make one or two of those saves, I’d still [be playing] in the game. The way I’m looking at it is, ‘How can I get better from that? How can I make those saves that I made all playoffs? How do I make them at the start of that game and give the guys a chance to get their feet under them?’ As a goalie, that’s your job.”
Nill said after exit interviews were completed with the players and an internal assessment of the season was completed, it was determined a new voice in the locker room was necessary. He added that events that took place after Game 5 were a component of the decision, but it was not the one factor that tipped the scales regarding a coaching change.
However, Nill did not dismiss the idea a change was being considered prior to the Stars' playoff exit.
“I have no problem with the pull [of Oettinger]. If you’re coaching and you just let two goals in, you have to change momentum,” Nill said. “I think everybody [had problems with the comments after]. I think even Pete was remorseful of it a little bit. I don’t think he handled that the way he wanted to. But you have to remember the duress, the pressure, everything going on with that [at that time].”
In three seasons with Dallas, DeBoer was 149-68-29 and had the best points percentage in the NHL (.665). The Stars were 29-27 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, trailing only the Oilers (34) and Florida Panthers (41) in wins during that time. He is 662-447-152 in 1,261 regular-season games with the Panthers, New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks, Vegas Golden Knights and Stars, and 97-82 in the playoffs.
"I'm sitting up here and I just let (go) a guy who went to the conference finals three years in a row," Nill said. "That's not easy to do. ... You can take a step backwards pretty fast. ... Pete felt like he was pushing every button that he could, and I respect that he was."
DeBoer's teams have made the third round of the playoffs six of the past seven seasons and he has guided two teams (Devils, 2012; Sharks, 2016) to the Stanley Cup Final.
“Pete’s going to win a Cup, unfortunately it won’t be here," Nill said. "He’s a good coach. He learns every time. He’s been fired a few times but I think he’s learning each time when that happens. He’s open-minded like that.”
DeBoer ranks fourth among active coaches and 17th all-time in coaching wins.
Nill said the process for finding a new coach is just beginning, and that it is “wide-ranging.” Neil Graham, coach of Texas, the Stars' American Hockey League affiliate, is expected to be a candidate, and added Dallas is going to have an open mind about its ultimate decision, with European and Canadian junior hockey coaches all under consideration.
“We have a list," Nill said. "We talk internally all the time about this. In our scouting meetings we’ll talk to our scouting staff about this. 'Who is the up-and-coming coach? Who’s in Kitchener or Barrie, Ontario, right now that’s an up-and-coming coach? Who’s in Medicine Hat that’s an up-and-coming coach?' As we scout players, we try to do the same with coaches.”
The Stars are the only NHL team without a coach; the Boston Bruins filled their coaching vacancy by hiring Marco Sturm on Thursday.
