DALLAS (AP) 鈥� Glen Gulutzan was ready to be the head coach of the Dallas Stars this time.
There was a lot of experience Gulutzan gained in the 12 years between being let go by the Stars after his first two seasons as an NHL head coach and being 鈥� by the same general manager who soon after taking that role in 2013 decided not to keep him.
鈥淗e鈥檚 lived it. How do you build your resume, you鈥檝e got to go through experiences,鈥� said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 gone through those experiences and those situations.”
The 54-year-old Gulutzan is now leading the Stars (50-20-12) into the Western Conference playoffs. Game 1 is at home Saturday against Central Division rival Minnesota. They wrapped up their third consecutive 50-win regular season with 112 points, the third-most in the NHL.
After the last June, even though each of his three seasons ended in the Western Conference final, Nill brought back Gulutzan after a dozen seasons in Canada for 947 regular-season games and 93 more in the playoffs. He was a Vancouver assistant for three seasons, then the head coach in Calgary for two before seven seasons on the staff in Edmonton, which each of the past two years.
鈥淗e’s got composure behind the bench. He’s guided our team,鈥� Nill said. 鈥淭here’s been highs and lows during the year, there’s a lot of injuries he’d had to deal with. But he’s gotten that experience now, how to deal with that. And it doesn’t change focus. It’s always about the next moment, the next game.”
First time with the Stars
Gulutzan was coaching the Stars鈥� AHL team before becoming a first-time NHL head coach in 2011, during an awkward period for the franchise as it went through bankruptcy and an ownership change while being basically run by the league.
Dallas was 42-35-5 in Gulutzan鈥檚 debut season, then 22-22-4 in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season before Nill became the GM and didn鈥檛 pick up the coach鈥檚 option for a third season.
Not always a head coach
DeBoer has been a head coach for six different teams over 18 seasons, including the final four games for the New York Islanders this year after .
While DeBoer has always been in charge behind the bench in the NHL, Gulutzan after his initial head coaching stint got the opportunity to work with coaches like John Tortorella, Ken Hitchcock, Dave Tippett and Kris Knoblauch. He was part of 75 playoff games with the Oilers the past four seasons, getting to the Stanley Cup Final twice after eliminating the Stars.
Having been a depended-on assistant himself, Gulutzan now depends heavily on his staff.
Solid foundation in Dallas
Gulutzan took over a Stars team that returned most of its primary core, though the only player still around from his first time there is Jamie Benn, the 36-year-old captain in his 17th season.
Veteran center Matt Duchene said DeBoer did an amazing job laying a foundation, and that Gulutzan has done a nice job tweaking things through the course of this season.
鈥淛ust a really, really smart hockey mind that sees the game really well,鈥� said Wyatt Johnston, the 22-year-old, fourth-year forward whose 45 goals matched Jason Robertson for the team lead.
鈥淗e鈥檚 brought in some elements to our team that have made us, when we鈥檙e at our best, probably just an elite, elite team, and I think understands our group pretty well,鈥� Duchene said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a reason you go to three straight conference finals. It鈥檚 not by accident. You need great coaching to be able to do that. And I think Pete was that for sure and then Gully coming in … he didn鈥檛 come in being like, all right, it鈥檚 my show now, I鈥檓 going to completely gut this and redo it.鈥�
Under DeBoer, the Stars became the first team to reach the conference finals three seasons in a row title under the playoff format that began in 1994. The Stars didn鈥檛 even make it past that.
Streaking Stars
The Stars had a franchise-record 10-game winning streak that , and now have won five in a row. That’s a stark difference from the seven-game losing streak they took into last year’s postseason.
鈥淭he focus, that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 recognizing as very, very similar,鈥� Gulutzan said when asked what he’s seen in the Stars compared to his recent deep runs with the Oilers. 鈥淵ou can just feel the focus of the players starting to change the closer they get. … Their demeanor is starting to change.”
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