Stars hire Gulutzan as head coach
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FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Stars have hired Glen Gulutzan as their head coach 12 years after he was fired from his first stint with them by the general manager who is still there.
GM Jim Nill, who in 2013 had been with the Stars for only two weeks when he decided not to retain Gulutzan, said Tuesday that the coach is returning to the organization. He replaces Pete DeBoer, who was fired after all three of his seasons with Dallas ended in the Western Conference final.
Gulutzan, who turns 54 in August, has spent the past seven seasons as an assistant with the Edmonton Oilers, including the past two that ended with trips to the Stanley Cup Final.
“Since his previous time in Dallas, Glen has worked tirelessly to establish himself as one of the most respected coaches in the NHL,” Nill said. “His extensive NHL experience, both as a head coach and assistant coach, speaks to his ability to innovate and adapt to the modern game, as well as build relationships with his players. Glen has worked with some of the best players in the world and continually found ways to maximize their skill sets to contribute to team success. We have full confidence that he is the right person to elevate our team to the next level.”
The Stars announced the hiring of Gulutzan only minutes after the league’s annual free agency signing period opened. They will formally reintroduce him Wednesday at their home arena.
This is Gulutzan's third job in charge of an NHL team after leading the Stars from 2011-13 and the Calgary Flames from 2016-18.
“My family and I are excited to come back to Texas where I started my NHL coaching journey more than a decade ago,” Gulutzan said in a statement. “Jim and his staff have built a roster that is one of the most talented and deepest in the entire League. The right pieces are in place to compete for the Stanley Cup on a yearly basis. I’m ready to get to Dallas and start the preparation for next season.”
Oilers GM Stan Bowman hinted at the hire at his season-ending news conference by saying he didn’t want to announce anything regarding Gulutzan.
Gulutzan was 64-57-9 in his two seasons that came at the end of the Stars’ franchise-long stretch of five consecutive seasons missing the playoffs. He was 82-68-14 in his two seasons coaching the Flames, who were swept by Anaheim in their only playoff appearance with him in 2017.
This is Nill's sixth head coach in Dallas, where he is going into his 13th season.
Lindy Ruff was the first Dallas coach hired by Nill, who made two playoff appearances in four years before Ken Hitchcock returned for one season with the Stars, the team he led to its only Stanley Cup title in 1999 and was Western Conference champions again the next season.
Hitchcock, the only other head coach with more than one stint with Dallas, was followed by Jim Montgomery, Rick Bowness and DeBoer.
Assistant coach Alain Nasreddine and goaltending coach Jeff Reese are staying on the Stars staff. The club also named Neil Graham as an assistant after 10 seasons as a head coach in their organization, the past six for the Texas in the American Hockey League after four with Idaho in the ECHL.