DeBoer jumps back in as Stars coach, looks to spark offense

DALLAS (AP) — Pete DeBoer didn’t really hesitate to jump right back into coaching with the Dallas Stars about a month after he was fired by the Vegas Golden Knights.

Now the 54-year-old is ready to try to spark the offense of the only playoff team to get outscored during the 2021-22 regular season.

“The Vegas one rattled me,” DeBoer said during his introductory news conference Wednesday, sitting next to general manager Jim Nill with captain Jamie Benn in the audience.

“I think as a coach and a veteran coach that’s gone through it before, you lick your wounds for a couple of days, you reflect on what you could have done differently,” he said. “And then the phone starts ringing and you start diving into the teams that are interested and you start getting excited again.”

It made sense that DeBoer wouldn’t wait for his fifth chance as a head coach in the NHL. The Vegas firing bothered him because he thought the coaching staff kept playoff hopes alive longer than expected in an injury-plagued season.

Besides, DeBoer never took a year off between the other stints. In fact, Vegas hired him the same season he was fired in San Jose (2019-20), and he led the Golden Knights to the Western Conference final in the playoff bubble in Canada before they lost to Dallas.

DeBoer, whose first NHL head coaching job was with Florida, has reached the Stanley Cup Final twice in a first season — with New Jersey in 2011-12 and with San Jose four years later. Since Nill believes Dallas has a roster capable of such a run, he said this decision was easy.

“I’m a big resume guy,” Nill said. “This is a tough league and it’s a tough one to coach in and you have to be able to handle situations. I know Pete can do it.”

The Stars want to score more goals