Dallas Stars’ return led by comeback coach

By David Mullen

In his three years as the Dallas Stars head coach, Pete DeBoer amassed 149 regular season wins, averaged 109 points per season and posted a combined winning percentage of .665. That success earned DeBoer a spot in the unemployment line. 

DeBoer led Dallas to three consecutive Western Conference Final appearances but lost all three series. The Stars were an excellent regular season team with a roster of talented players but not good enough to reach the Stanley Cup Final. Once viewed as a steady leader on the bench, DeBoer became an effusive micromanager. A highly criticized public conflict with goalie Jake Oettinger during the 2025 conference finals was his undoing.

In Dallas, GM Jim Nill has the power but ultimately the players have the authority. In the history of the Stars, the players have resisted overbearing coaches like Ken Hitchcock, Lindy Ruff and Glen Gulutzan. For the 2025-26 season, Nill replaced DeBoer with Gulutzan, who returns for his second stint behind the bench in Dallas. 

When Gulutzan first coached the Stars, from 2011 to 2013, his reputation was also as an effusive micromanager. Nill, who joined the Stars in 2013, fired Gulutzan in his first move as the new GM. After becoming an assistant with the Edmonton Oilers, a team that has beaten the Stars in the conference finals and made the Stanley Cup Final in the last two years, Gulutzan has gained a reputation as a player’s coach and relationship manager. Go figure.

One thing is certain. Nill wants greater toughness on the ice. The Stars are a highly talented team, but more known for their finesse than fists. It appears that Nill wants the Stars to be more like the Oilers. 

The Stars return with a familiar group of front-line players like Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, Tyler Seguin, Wyatt Johnston, Sam Steel, Colin Blackwell, Matt Duchene, Mavrik Bourque and Mikko Rantanen. A 2024-25 late season acquisition, Rantanen showed flashes of brilliance in his playoff run with the Stars and will benefit from a full season, a new coach and an eight-year, $96 million contract to prove his value. Nill is strapped by salary cap limitations. Don’t expect a Rantanen-like trade this season. 

Captain Jamie Benn, 36, begins the season on injured reserve with a punctured lung. His absence will be felt for the career Star, although his offensive production has been in decline. Center Radek Faksa returned to Dallas in the offseason. Mason Marchment, traded to the Seattle Kraken in the offseason, will also be missed. Robertson, Hintz and Rantanen on the first line could be a force and the 22-year-old Johnston is ready to join the NHL elite. 

Gulutzan’s first charge is to improve the Stars power play, which he did in Edmonton behind Stars nemeses Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. With a man advantage, the Stars often overpassed looking for one great shot. Gulutzan will have the Stars charging the net and shooting more frequently. 

 On defense, the Stars have the talent on paper but rarely have yet to completely gel on the ice. At 26, Miro Heiskanen is evolving into a superstar and is a top transition defenseman. Fan favorite Thomas Harley provides back line mobility but may lack the grit the Stars need more of on defense. Esa Lindell, Lian Bichsel and Nils Lundkvist contribute to the NHL’s fourth best squad in defensive ratings. Bichsel brings much needed toughness.

Stars goaltending is clearly an asset. G Jake Oettinger is a Vezina Trophy (best goalie) candidate and is the key to future success. At 26, 6-foot, 5 inches and 200 pounds, he is the prototypical hockey goalie. He must carry the team on his back during the playoff grind, something apparently challenged by DeBoer, which led to his untimely exit. Casey DeSmith is a solid backup.   

While the Eastern Conference’s Florida Panthers are the two-time Stanley Cup Champions, the Western Conference is as deep as a conference can be. The Stars compete against the Oilers, Colorado Avalanche, Winnipeg Jets, the newly branded Utah Mammoth, Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks among others. For the Stars to reach the elusive Stanley Cup Final, the team will need a lot of stamina, a minimum of injuries and a little luck.

The 2025-26 Stars seem to have what it takes to hurdle the Oilers, Golden Knights, Avalanche and others to make the Stanley Cup Final. Dallas has a mix of proven veterans, blooming players and outstanding goaltending. But this season, the road to the championship hits a major pothole in February, when the NHL takes a break for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Many Stars are expected to make Olympic teams, adding to an already grueling schedule of 82 regular season games and a potential 28 playoffs tilts.

Under Gulutzan, the Stars will check more and should improve their power play. The core of this team — save Rantanen — have been together for a long time and the clock is ticking for a championship. 

Hockey players are as physically tough as any professional athlete. But their egos can be fragile. It will be up to Gulutzan to build cohesion on a team that has the say to make or break a coach’s ability to coach. GM Nill has the power, but the players must buy in or this team will be retooled in 2026.