HIGHLIGHTS
- Dallas fired Pete DeBoer on Friday
- Stars are only coaching vacancy in NHL
- Where could DeBoer land next?
Pete DeBoer coached his Dallas Stars to the Western Conference Final for the third time in as many seasons this year, but once again, he fell short.
The Edmonton Oilers eliminated the Stars in five games, and DeBoer’s handling of Jake Oettinger, plus his postgame comments, led to him being fired by Dallas.
The Stars will become the ninth team to name a new coach this offseason, and they have a few solid options. But for DeBoer, he may have to wait longer than that. While DeBoer was coaching Dallas deep into the playoffs, the other eight vacancies were filled.
Unless a team really wants to snag DeBoer after another disappointing three-year stint with a top team, he’ll likely be waiting until next season for a new job. But which teams could potentially turn to DeBoer if they get off to a slow start in 2025?
Nashville Predators
The Predators had Barry Trotz behind the bench from 1998 to 2014, but are now on their third head coach since 2014. Peter Laviolette helped win the Presidents’ Trophy and reach the Stanley Cup Final, John Hynes came up short in his few years, and now Andrew Brunette is behind the bench.
Nashville looked poised to take a big step last season after spending big in the summer. However, after reaching 99 points and the first round of the playoffs in 2024, the Preds saw a 31-point decrease to 68 for the third-worst record in the league.
Trotz is now in the front office, and if Brunette doesn’t get the Predators off to a good start, perhaps they could turn to a veteran coach in DeBoer, who has proven he can help teams at least make a deep playoff run.
Los Angeles Kings
Sticking in the Western Conference, although a ton more actually West than Nashville, is Los Angeles. The Kings seem to be a broken record right now, with strong regular seasons leading into a first-round exit against the Edmonton Oilers.
It looked like the Kings may finally exorcise those demons after taking a 2-0 series lead this year, but the Oilers rattled off four straight wins to eliminate LA. A controversial coach’s challenge by Jim Hiller in Game 3 turned the tide, and the Kings couldn’t recover.
Hiller was hired in LA as an assistant coach under Todd McLellan in 2022 and assumed the interim head coach role on February 2, 2024. They finished the season strong with 43 points in 32 games, and then put up 105 points this past season. But Edmonton still stood in their way.
DeBoer and the Kings have both been victimised by the Oilers in recent years. Perhaps putting their two brains together could get over the hump.
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres might be cursed. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2011 or won a round since 2007.
That last playoff appearance came under current head coach Lindy Ruff, who is now in his second stint with the club. He has coached 1,165 games for the Sabres, including a disappointing 36-39-7 record last season.
The Sabres aren’t exactly ready to take that next step like the Predators or Kings, but they certainly have some talented pieces and are desperate to sniff the playoffs. Bringing in DeBoer and making a big trade or two could be just what the doctor ordered.
