The Texas Rangers<\/a> have never gone to three straight American League Championship Series in their more than half a century in Arlington. The Mavericks have never even gone in back-to-back seasons in their 45 years in Dallas. And the Cowboys used to do this sort of thing routinely in the Tom Landry days \u2014 12 NFC title games in 17 years \u2014 but you already know where they haven\u2019t gone a single time in their last 29 seasons<\/a>, so let\u2019s leave them out of this discussion entirely.<\/p>\n On Thursday night, the Stars begin that long climb back.<\/p>\n Sports Roundup<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n Related<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a tough start with Winnipeg and Colorado on the road, so we\u2019ve got to dial in right away,\u201d forward Mikko Rantanen said.<\/p>\n Rantanen has never started a season with Dallas but, man, he nearly demonstrated the perfect way to finish one. Taking matters into his own hands against his former Avalanche teammates<\/a> and then the Presidents\u2019 Trophy winner from Winnipeg, Rantanen scored 17 points (9 goals, 8 assists) in a six-game stretch. That included back-to-back hat tricks<\/a> in Game 7 against the Avs and Game 1 against the Jets. He was the clear front-runner for the Conn Smythe Trophy until Edmonton doused his hot streak, holding him to no goals and three assists in what, for the Oilers, appeared to be a fairly routine five-game destruction of the Stars.<\/p>\n If the games weren\u2019t bad enough, coach Pete DeBoer made a mess of things by ripping goaltender Jake Oettinger<\/a> after the final game. That\u2019s how we have arrived at the start of the 2025-26 season with Glen Gulutzan<\/a>, who coached a wildly different Dallas franchise more than a decade ago, back in charge.<\/p>\n Gulutzan looks about 10 years younger than his age of 54, but in working the Edmonton bench as an assistant the last six years he has seen how a team gets to the finals (twice) and how it beats Dallas when it counts (twice). Now he\u2019s trying to flip the script, although there are no guarantees for anyone in a loaded West<\/a> where the Stars, Jets, Avs, Oilers, Golden Knights and Kings all scored more than 100 points last season.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Utah is coming,\u201d Gulutzan warned. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to it, it\u2019s a little surreal.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Louis DeLuca \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n Head coaches reclaiming their former jobs usually arrive as some sort of conquering hero searching for a repeat. That was true with the failed Ken Hitchcock experiment, and how many times did George Steinbrenner try to milk one more World Series out of Billy Martin? I lost count at five.<\/p>\n Gulutzan\u2019s teams did not make the playoffs either season here<\/a>, and when he coached Calgary, the Flames went 0-4 in their only postseason appearance. It\u2019s a strange connection to make in the search for a Cup \u2014 replace the coach who has never lost a seventh game in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a man who has never won a postseason game.<\/p>\n But Kris Knoblauch wasn\u2019t any kind of known NHL quantity when the Oilers brought him aboard less than two years ago, and he just steered that team to two Cup Finals against Florida.<\/p>\n The Stars aren\u2019t as loaded as they were last year, but no one is in the West. Winnipeg and Edmonton lost forward depth, too. The difference could be that Dallas has remained so stocked in young forwards coming through Austin that they don\u2019t miss a beat in their efforts to supplant the Jets atop the Central Division.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a long, long grind for 82 games, and then you\u2019ve got to beat good teams for eight more wins before you get back to the conference finals that you\u2019re trying to survive. But it\u2019s not the worst job in the world, either, as veteran Tyler Seguin, winner of a Cup with Boston the year the Mavericks beat Miami, tried to explain.<\/p>\n \u201cPressure around here the last few years \u2026 that\u2019s a Tuesday, right? You know it\u2019s a privilege,” Seguin said. The short offseason can be an advantage, he said. \u201cIt\u2019s like it\u2019s hard not to be intense because you feel like you\u2019re right back into a big game.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n The big ones come right away. That\u2019s life in the West. We\u2019ll see if Gulutzan\u2019s more player-friendly approach can deliver the breathing room a competitive team needs in order to suit up for 100 games without wearing down. A little Edmonton knowledge might go a long way, too. <\/p>\n X: @TimCowlishaw<\/a><\/p>\n More Stars 2025-26 season preview<\/p>\n \u2014 Five bold predictions for the Stars in 2025-26: Big year ahead for Jason Robertson, others<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Stars announce opening night roster, more moves expected before season-opener in Winnipeg<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Elusive 400th goal, 1,200 games? Milestones Dallas Stars players can hit in 2025-26 season<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 What can Stars expect from Glen Gulutzan? Players from 2011-13 remember lasting bonds<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Breaking down the Stars\u2019 2025-26 roster: Managing goalie Jake Oettinger\u2019s workload is key<\/a><\/p>\n Our experts share their predictions as the Stars look to take another step toward Stanley Cup success.<\/p>\n Readers complain about some Dallas City Hall decisions; appreciate Texas focusing on mental health services; don\u2019t want the Dallas Stars to leave Dallas; and call out DART for being unsafe.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t win \u2018em all, but too often Dallas doesn\u2019t even try. Or, worse, doesn\u2019t even know the game is on.<\/p>\n![\"Dallas](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1759950491_629_SQQB73IAKBEKJDKP434AVRTNQY.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Dallas](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/TNJZQCUOVZF6TO7OTOKXZX7AIY.JPG\")
<\/p>\n![\"Dallas](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1759950491_281_REAVWBYMAVFV3KTAGV2XYN5NMU.jpg\")
<\/a>Predicting the Stars\u2019 2025-26 season: Can Dallas maintain success under Glen Gulutzan?<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Aerial](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1759950492_74_Z7IJ7CKOFFH3HKDCU5GNJ7HXAI.jpg\")
<\/a>Letters to the Editor \u2014 Dallas City Hall, mental health services, Dallas Stars, DART<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Fans](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1759950492_549_VL2KV5U7MZB4HASA4SGW4F3I7A.jpg\")
<\/a>As Stars eye move from downtown, Dallas is guilty of same old story<\/a><\/p>\n