Stars fire DeBoer after 3rd straight conference finals exit
The Dallas Stars fired head coach Pete DeBoer, the team announced Friday.
The Stars lost in the Western Conference Final in five games against the Edmonton Oilers, marking the team's third straight playoff exit in the final four.
"After careful consideration, we believe that a new voice is needed in our locker room to push us closer to our goal of winning the Stanley Cup," Stars general manager Jim Nill said.
DeBoer came under fire for his decision to bench star goaltender Jake Oettinger in Game 5 after he allowed two goals on his first two shots faced.
Oettinger called the surprisingly quick hook "embarrassing," and DeBoer said during his end-of-season media availability that he hadn't yet spoken to the goaltender.
After the Game 5 loss, DeBoer explained part of his reasoning for pulling Oettinger.
"I didn't blame it all on Jake, but the reality is, if you go back to last year's playoffs, he's lost six of seven games to Edmonton," DeBoer said. "And we give up two (goals) on two (shots) in an elimination game. It was partly to spark our team and wake them up, and partly knowing that (the) status quo had not been working. That's a pretty big sample size."
DeBoer had one year left on his contract with the Stars, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun. Dallas is currently the only team without a head coach after the Boston Bruins hired Marco Sturm on Thursday and the Pittsburgh Penguins tabbed Dan Muse on Wednesday.
DeBoer guided the Stars to a 149-68-29 record in the regular season. He's reached the conference final in six of the last seven years in which he's coached, a run that includes stints with the San Jose Sharks, Vegas Golden Knights, and Stars. However, he hasn't made the Stanley Cup Final since 2016 and has yet to win the Stanley Cup as a head coach.
DeBoer has been an NHL head coach every season since he was hired by the Florida Panthers in 2008-09. He guided the New Jersey Devils to the Cup Final in 2012 and has made the playoffs in 10 of 14 seasons.