Gulutzan in different situation with Dallas 12 years later, and Stars have a more seasoned coach

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FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Glen Gulutzan has returned to a much different situation in Dallas, and the Stars now have a more seasoned coach that has been close to a Stanley Cup title since they let him go 12 years ago.

Unlike Gulutzan’s initial stint with the Stars, this isn’t a first-time head coach overseeing an aging team basically run by the league while going through bankruptcy, an ownership change and a lockout-shortened season during a postseason drought.

“He was a young guy thrown in a tough situation. Team wasn’t great, a lot of veteran players at the end of their career trying to hold on,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said. “But to see his maturing level now … when we hired him, I got a lot of calls and they miss him, and that says a lot.”

When the Stars open their season Thursday night at Winnipeg, the 54-year-old Gulutzan, who replaced the fired Pete DeBoer, will be in charge of a team that has been to the Western Conference final each of the past three seasons. There are again big expectations with a roster that includes high-scoring forward Mikko Rantanen, standout defenseman Miro Heiskanen and goalie Jake Oettinger. Rantanen was the trade deadline acquisition last season who is now at the start of an eight-year contract, as is the goaltender.

“It’s a top-notch organization now,” Gulutzan said. “I’ve been around the league and seen some great organizations and yes, things have changed here. It’s a special place.”

Gulutzan was on Edmonton’s staff the past seven seasons. The Oilers lost to Florida in the Stanley Cup Final each of the past two seasons, both after eliminating the Stars in the Western Conference final.

“Obviously he’s bringing things from the team that’s beat us the last two times,” veteran forward Tyler Seguin said. “I think everyone in this locker room is open for new ideas, new terminology, trying to figure out what we can fix without losing what we are.”

When Gulutzan took the Stars job after coming so close and started talking to his new players, it quickly became clear to him how badly they too wanted to win a Stanley Cup after three deep postseason runs in a row that ended too soon.

“I could see they want it, too, and that kind of drives me,” Gulutzan said. “I’m going to prey on that.”

Seguin and Rantanen are the only Stars players with Stanley Cup titles, both with other teams. Seguin’s came as a rookie with Boston in 2011. Rantanen raised the Cup with Colorado in 2022.

Nill became GM of the Stars after the 2012-13 season that was shortened to 48 games because of a lockout. One of his first decisions was to not keep Gulutzan, who was 64-57-9 in his first two seasons as an NHL head coach, and instead hire veteran Lindy Ruff.

Gulutzan went north, as an assistant with Vancouver, before two seasons as Calgary’s head coach (82-68-14) and then Edmonton. He had the opportunity to work with coaches like John Tortorella, Ken Hitchcock, Dave Tippett and Kris Knoblauch, and players liker Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

When reintroduced as the Stars coach in July, Gulutzan said he believed Nill and Dallas twice made the right decision about him, first not keeping him as their head coach 12 years ago and then bringing him back in that same role.

“A lot’s changed,” Gulutzan said. “Experience changes you.”

Gulutzan’s two years in Dallas wrapped up a franchise-long streak of five consecutive seasons without making the playoffs. The Stars now have been in the postseason six of the past seven seasons, missing only the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season that came after making the Stanley Cup Final in the Canadian bubble when COVID-19 altered the end of the 2019-20 season.

“He knows he’s got a good team, but he’s going to put his stamp on it. He’s going to put his trademark on it. What that is I don’t know,” Nill said. “There’s always that one telling moment during the season, during a game and we’ll see how he responds. But I’m very confident that he’ll do a good job for us.”

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