Jim Nill recently three-peated as general manager of the year, an NHL record, so pardon the impertinence of the following questions. Just that you can’t tell about GMs around here anymore. Except Jerry Jones, of course. We know him all too well. But no sooner had I proclaimed Nico Harrison in the running for the best boss in the market last winter than he made himself the subject of chants at public gatherings of three or more.
And now Nill is replacing a coach who’s won more Game 7s than anyone with a guy who’s never gotten past a Game 4.
Not only that, but a guy he once fired.
Was Glen Gulutzan a make-up call?
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Did Gerard Gallant not answer?
Was Ken Hitchcock not up for a hat trick?
What’s up with the GMs around here all of a sudden? Next thing you know, Chris Young will swap Wyatt Langford for Nate Lowe and a Netflix subscription.
Remember when Tom Gaglardi, though wounded by a third straight conference finals exit, still said he couldn’t fire a “top three, top five” coach with the job market what it is these days?
Remember when the owner then said, “Do you see who’s getting hired?”
Do you, Tom?
On a scale of local coaching hires, this feels like Brian Schottenheimer times 10. At least Jerry hasn’t recycled Dave Campo. Not yet, anyway. Schotty is a bit of an unknown quantity, but he represents a reasonable shot at a nice surprise.
Gulutzan, meanwhile, seems like a guy neither the Stars nor the NHL owes any favors.
Related:Pro and cons of Dallas Stars hiring Glen Gulutzan as head coach for a second time
His supporters remind us not to judge him by the circumstances of his first time around the Stars. Tom Hicks — or his LLC, as he liked to remind us — had bellied up with his second local franchise. Gulutzan didn’t have a lot of talent to work with in 2011-12. Did well to win 42 games in his first season before Nill, in one of his first acts as GM, fired him after season 2.
Give Nill this much: As strange as this move looks, it’s not unprecedented. George Steinbrenner famously rehired Billy Martin four times in the ‘70s top-rated soap opera. Mitch Kupchak brought back Phil Jackson a year after firing him in 2004 despite the fact that Jackson had called his star, Kobe Bryant, “uncoachable.” They made it work, and the Lakers won two more titles under Jackson.
Claiming he’d made a “big mistake” when he canned him after the ’94 season, Al Davis rehired Art Shell in 2006.
Fired him again a year later.
Dallas head coach Glen Gulutzan walks out of the bench area after the final horn sounds in Columbus’ 3-1 win over Dallas during the Columbus Blue Jackets vs. the Dallas Stars NHL hockey game at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Thursday, April 25, 2013.(Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer)
Time will tell for sure whether Gulutzan’s return more closely resembles Jackson’s or Shell’s, but I can tell you which way to bet.
Forgive his first head coaching gig if you want, but what about Gulutzan’s second? Fired after two seasons in charge of Calgary with a year to go on his contract. The Ducks swept the Flames in the first round of the 2017 playoffs. When Brad Treliving pulled Gulutzan after the playoffs in ’18, he went out of his way to note there was a lot of blame to go around.
He also said this: “I think having experience in this league is critical.”
Gulutzan’s experience mounts to four years as a head coach and one brief playoff run. Pete DeBoer got the gate after three straight conference finals and a track record of deep playoff dives wherever he went.
Just winning a playoff round would rank as a significant upgrade to Gulutzan’s resume, and even that’s not good enough around here anymore.
Gulutzan gets points in three areas: A good guy who relates well with star-caliber players and coaches a mean power play. Hitch once called him “brilliant.” The Oilers’ power play has been the best in hockey under his guidance. A cynic might note that’s what you get when it’s manned by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but it wasn’t any good with those stars the year before Gulutzan got there. A cynic might also argue the Flames’ power play was 29th in the league in his last season and one of the reasons he was let go.
The moral is great players generally make coaches look good. Or get them fired, I forget which. DeBoer was too old school for Mikko Rantanen and the rest of the Stars’ talented roster. Gulutzan no doubt gets an opportunity of a lifetime because he’s a smart, adaptable guy who’s learned his lessons in the league, and Nill is confident he won’t throw Jake Oettinger under any buses.
Also because Jon Cooper and Paul Maurice weren’t on the market, right, Mr. Gaglardi?
I suppose there’s still enough time and talent for Gulutzan to make a good head coach of himself at 53. It’s been 13 years since Nill called him a “quality” coach while deciding “to go in a different direction.” Seven years have passed since Gulutzan’s last head coaching gig, and it’s not like there haven’t been opportunities in a league where coaches turn over like top sheets. Nill not only sees something in him no one else does, he sees something he didn’t when he fired him. If he’s right about Gulutzan twice, they ought to rename that GM trophy after him.
Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN
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