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.
What was Hitchcock's record when we fired him? Seems like we fire some pretty successful coaches.
ReplyDeleteOXEY---per Wiki:
ReplyDeleteIn 1990, Hitchcock left the WHL and joined the Philadelphia Flyers as an assistant coach. Hitchcock spent three seasons with the Flyers organization before leaving to helm the Dallas Stars' IHL franchise, the Kalamazoo Wings, for the 1993-94 season.
In the middle of his third season with the team (then renamed the Michigan K-Wings), he was offered the head coaching position with the Dallas Stars and on January 8, 1996, he was named head coach, replacing Bob Gainey, who remained with the Stars as general manager. In his first full season with the Stars, he led the team to a first-place finish in the Central Division and a playoff berth. In his second full season with the Stars, Hitchcock again led the Stars to the playoffs, losing in the Conference Finals to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. Also during the 1997-98 season, Hitchcock was named to his first of three consecutive NHL All-Star Game teams as coach.
During the 1998-99 NHL season, Hitchcock led the Stars to a regular season record of 51–19–12 (0.695 winning percentage), a team best. In the playoffs, Hitchcock led the team to a Stanley Cup victory over the Buffalo Sabres, the team's first. The next season, Hitchcock again led the team to the Stanley Cup finals, only to lose to the New Jersey Devils.
In the 2000-01 season, Hitchcock again led the Stars to the playoffs, but exited early. Midway through the following season, after getting off to a mediocre 23–21–6 start and in the midst of strife between the players and management, Hitchcock was fired as head coach.