The Tippett Point

The Dallas Stars new manager, Joe Nieuwendyk, fired Dave Tippett and hired Marc Crawford as coach. According to the Dallas Morning News,

Tippett, 47, was hired in 2002 as a first-time head coach. He was tied for the second-best winning percentage among active coaches at the end of the season (trailing only Detroit's Mike Babcock), and had the Stars in the playoffs for five of his six seasons. The Stars went 36-35-11 and finished with the eighth-worst record in the 30-team NHL.

But this wasn't good enough for Nieuwendyk.


For Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk, it became clear in less than two weeks on the job that a coaching change was necessary. The team needed a bench boss with a tougher edge after missing the playoffs for the first time in six seasons.
Nieuwendyk turned to Marc Crawford, a coach he played for in the 1988 Olympics and someone similar to the coach he played under when the Stars won their only Stanley Cup 10 years ago. "What Marc will bring is a real command at the top," Nieuwendyk said. "The players will know who's in charge. They will be held accountable on a daily basis."

The comments around here are mostly negative. People seem to feel that Tippett got a raw deal but will get snapped up by another team. As for Crawford, it remains to be seen. He has not enjoyed any success since he won the cup with Colorado in 1996. His last job, from which he was fired after one year, was with the Kings. Oh goody. Another mediocre Dallas team.