Dallas Stars fire Pete DeBoer despite team's impressive season
The Dallas Stars have fired head coach Pete DeBoer after three seasons in charge, with the Texas powerhouse making the Western Conference Finals in each of those years.
DeBoer is a longtime NHL head coach, who achieved plenty of success leading the Stars' bench but failed to get the team to the Stanley Cup Finals in a trio of direct attempts.
The Stars were eliminated the last two postseasons by the Edmonton Oilers, with a defeat to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023.
The 56-year-old DeBoer has 18 seasons of NHL experience as a head coach and has never won a Stanley Cup.
He led the New Jersey Devils in 2012 and the San Jose Sharks in 2016 to his only pair of Stanley Cup Finals as a bench boss, where his team lost to the Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins respectively.
DeBoer's last six seasons leading a team to the playoff have ended with an elimination in the conference finals, dating back to the 2019 playoffs with the Sharks.
The timing from the Stars leaves their post as the only head-coaching vacancy.
In the last few days, the Penguins hired Dan Muse to heir helm and the Boston Bruins scooped up Marco Sturm, with DeBoer being a more impressive candidate than either of those two men.
Unless the Stars hire a standing NHL head coach, which could happen with one of the deepest rosters in hockey, DeBoer will have to wait a season for his next bench leadership role.
Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals is Friday night, with the Oilers up 1-0 on the Florida Panthers after an overtime goal from Leon Draisaitl.
The Stars last won a Stanley Cup in 1999 and most recently advanced past the Western Conference Final in the bubble during 2020, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning for the league championship.
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