Stars hiring DeBoer as their new head coach
Former San Jose Sharks coach Peter DeBoer, who was fired by Vegas last month, will be returning to the NHL as the new Dallas Stars coach, multiple outlets reported.
Contract terms are still being discussed but an announcement is expected to come soon.
DeBoer was fired by the Vegas Golden Knights on May 16. Four days later, Rick Bowness stepped down as coach of the Stars.
DeBoer, 54, compiled a 98-50-12 record in three seasons with Vegas. He has an overall record of 513-379-123 as a coach with the Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, Sharks and Golden Knights.
Vegas lost to the Bowness-coached Stars in the Western Conference finals in 2020.
Bowness, 67, guided Dallas to a 46-30-6 record in 2021-22 and was 89-62-25 over three seasons with the Stars.
`Mr. Game 7' back in Final as an analyst
“Mr. Game 7” is back in the Stanley Cup Final, but in a much different role than before.
Three-time champion and 2014 playoff MVP Justin Williams joined NHL Network as a guest analyst for Games 3 and 4 between the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning.
“It's easy to talk hockey — it's all I know,” Williams told The Associated Press by phone. “I know hockey. I've been through a lot of experiences. You feel you can give people the best insight you can as to what's going on in the locker room and what players are thinking and kind of hopefully what needs to be done.”
Williams, who won the Cup with Carolina in 2006 and Los Angeles in 2012 and '14, is best known for his Game 7 heroics. He recorded an NHL-record 15 points, and his team went 8-1 in those games.
He entered this series for Game 3 on Monday in Tampa with the dominant Avalanche up 2-0 on the two-time defending champion Lightning, who will need to replicate their comeback in the Eastern Conference final to force even a Game 6.
“One team's been really good, and the other team has yet to show what they can do,” Williams said. “You fully expect a bounce-back performance and more of a game than what we saw in Game 2.”
Talking hockey is no problem for the 40-yearold who's still connected to the game as a coach for his kids and adviser for the Carolina Hurricanes. Happy with his decision to hang up his skates in 2020, Williams' new TV teammates are fellow retired players Mike Johnson and Mike Rupp and host Jamison Coyle, who have a combined 2,786 games of NHL experience and four Cup rings among them.
“With those guys, it'll be a piece of cake and I expect it to flow real well,” Williams said. “You try and make your point and get in, get out, have them carry it and then if I have something thoughtful that I think is interesting to add to the group, I will certainly do it.”