Fair or not, most Dallas Stars fans know Glen Gulutzan for getting fired after coaching the team for only two seasons. When Jim Nill took over as general manager, firing Gulutzan and hiring Lindy Ruff for the head coaching position was one of his first acts as GM. 12 years later, there’s reason for skepticism. However, a lot has happened since 2013.
Looking back at 2012 and 2013, Gulutzan was a young coach behind a bench of a franchise that didn’t do him any favors. A bankrupt team with no owner, and no cap to make trades. Having since been a head coach elsewhere, and spending many years as an assistant coach. Gulutzan comes back to Dallas as a grizzled vet behind the bench with something to prove.
Gulutzan once had a brief stint coaching after his two seasons in Dallas. In two seasons 2012 and 2013), the Stars missed the playoffs both times. Including losing a playoff spot they had 77 games played in his first season, but the Stars dropped their last five games to miss the dance.
He’s coached in the NHL before
Gulutzan’s main resume booster isn’t what he’s done as a head coach. At least not yet. Thus far his best season as head coach was with the Flames in 2017. Where it was this far the only time he’s been to the playoffs. Only to get swept by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round before missing the playoffs next year, and getting fired. You know he wants to become successful as the lead behind the bench.
After his time in Calgary, Gulutzan figured out that he wasn’t ready yet to be a head coach in the NHL. So he went ahead, and tried out a lesser role behind the bench to build up his coaching skills. In doing so, proving himself to a general manager who once fired him as a head coach more than a decade ago.
Success as an assistant
Many Stars fans wanted Neil Graham to take the head coaching position. Which is fair given his success with the AHL’s Texas Stars, and he’s already coached many of the guys on the Dallas squad. Graham is working his way up the NHL coaching ladder right now. Looking to become a head coach for an NHL team one day. Maybe for the Stars in the future.
Nowadays, while the Stars have little to no salary cap space to work with, Gulutzan will be coaching a team with an abundance of talent unlike 13 years ago. After working with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl with the Edmonton Oilers, Gulutzan has shown his experience in working with the league’s best.
Gulutzan knows Edmonton
What’s another big reason why Nill hired Gully this summer? It’s because he was behind the Oilers’ bench. Not only do NHL coaches go through a series of promotions in the league’s chain of command, minors, etc, they are sometimes hired by a rival. When Nill hired Gulutzan, his last seven seasons as an assistant coach with the Oilers factored into the equation.
After two straight defeats to the Oilers, maybe the Stars can pick up some insider information on how to deal with them and get over the hump. Having already proven they can beat the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton might just be that final pin to knock down before they can get back to the Stanley Cup finals. Speaking of knocking down your targets, Gulutzan has a message to his players that Dallas fans have been waiting to hear.
Photo credit: Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
“What I would like to do right from the start is we’ve got to up our physicality a little bit, one degree through 82 games, because you can’t just turn that switch on, you have to build it in,” Gulutzan said. “We’re not going to be running around, because we’ve got too good of players, but there has to be an element of physicality so we’re better prepared for the playoffs. That’s something we can do. Wherever you put your energy, that’s where you get a little bit of a pop, and we’re going to put our energy there, we’re going to ask a little more from our guys.”
Featured photo: Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
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Tags: #Coaching #Redemption #Experience #Gulutzan #TexasHockey
Categorized:Stars