FRISCO, Texas — The Stars will begin a new era Thursday with the first day of training camp at the HEB Center in Cedar Park.
But new coach Pete DeBoer said he hopes it’s a continuation of many of the good things that have come before him.
“You’re not starting from the ground up here,” DeBoer said Wednesday in Frisco. “We want to keep some of the good things this organization and previous coaches have done here. They’ve built an identity around being hard to play against and defending well and being heavy. This is more about finding a happy medium.”
And yet there will be changes.
As Stars general manager Jim Nill gets ready to start his 10th season in Dallas, he is hoping to move forward with a solid core of players, and a little more consistency in the coaching staff. The Stars have had three head coaches in the past five seasons, and that has created challenges. Ken Hitchcock had the team for one season, Jim Montgomery coached for a little more than a season when he was let go, and Rick Bowness helmed the past two and a half years. The changes that surrounded the Montgomery departure also resulted in a bit of a makeshift coaching staff, as different assistants came from different places.
That said, everyone pitched in and helped Dallas to the playoffs for three of the past four seasons while playing seven playoff rounds in that span. When you combine that with a strong group of young players, the Stars are actually in a good place for DeBoer and his assistants to take the next step.
“I like where we’re at,” Nill said. “Our scouts have done a great job of finding talent, and now we have some layers where I think we can be competitive for years to come. We have our older veteran players, we have a tier that’s younger is kind of taking over, and then we have a good group knocking at the door.”
Video: NHL Tonight previews the Stars’ 2022-23 campaign
The hope is that DeBoer will be able to mold that group into a cohesive unit and the Stars will be immediately competitive with the top teams in the league. He has done that before, taking New Jersey (2012) and San Jose (2016) to the Stanley Cup Final in each spot in his first season. He also got Vegas to the Conference Final in his first two seasons there.
“I think there are some similarities there,” DeBoer said of the comparisons to his past teams and the Stars. “I like the depth of the potential help here, especially if some of these young guys are as good as they look.”
DeBoer also said he likes the veteran experience. Joe Pavelski was his captain when he was coaching in San Jose, and Dallas brings back some experienced players Ryan Suter, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. Both Benn and Seguin have seen their numbers dip in recent years, but a new coaching staff could help ignite the team’s two highest-paid players.
“You look around every sport, the guys who receive the criticism are the guys who make the most money,” DeBoer said. “I think that comes with the territory. I think those guys are both confident and comfortable in how they prepare and there is no doubt in that dressing room the respect both of those guys have amongst their peers. They’ve got to put in the work in, and they have, in preparing for the season and we’ve got to help them set the table to have success.”
Benn said he’s looking forward to working with the new coaching staff, and said a big part of that is the success the team has had in the playoffs — getting to the second round in 2019, the Stanley Cup Final in 2020 and taking Calgary to Game 7 last season.
“I’ve learned a lot about the guys we have,” Benn said. “We know how to win and we know what it takes. We definitely have to improve our winning percentage during the regular season to get a better spot and set ourselves up better, but there’s nothing but belief in this group.”
And that’s what makes getting back on the ice exciting. There are some changes in addition to the coaching staff — Mason Marchment and Nils Lundkvist each should help create more offense — and the organization is getting younger and hopefully more skilled. There is a lot of potential for improvement, and there are a lot of battles for a place on the NHL roster, and for ice time in the lineup.
“This is one of the more exciting camps I’m looking forward to,” Nill said. “New coaching staff, it’s a fresh start for a lot of players. We’re excited with the opportunities that will be there for everybody.”
Odds and ends
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Nill said Jason Robertson will not start camp while the two sides continue to negotiate his contract. The restricted free agent led the team in goal scoring last season with 41. Nill said he is optimistic the two sides can get something done.
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Nick Caamano (back surgery) and Gavin White (orbital bone) will also miss training camp.
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The Stars traded Ben Bishop’s contract to Buffalo but were hoping the veteran goalie, who has stopped playing but has a year left on his contract, could work in the Dallas front office. Nill said the league decided it was best if the Stars did not employ Bishop until his playing contract has finished.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.
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