Dallas Stars Coach Pete DeBoer's first-year success continues, reaching Conference Final for the fourth time

By Sam Nestler

Modified May 16, 2023 15:58 GMT

When Pete DeBoer was named the new Head Coach of the Dallas Stars before the season, he brought with him an impressive stat.

In his first season behind the bench of a new team, DeBoer had reached the Conference Final three out of four times. The only team he failed to accomplish the feat with was the Florida Panthers in his first year as an NHL coach.

Dallas Stars coach Pete DeBoer's first-year success continues

New Jersey Devils

DeBoer was hired to coach the New Jersey Devils in 2011. At the time, he had only coached three seasons in Florida and failed to make the playoffs in any of them.

But in his first season with New Jersey, DeBoer brought the Devils all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before falling to the 'Cinderella' Los Angeles Kings.

San Jose Sharks

In his longest-tenured position, coaching the San Jose Sharks, DeBoer had similar success. After four seasons in Jersey, only making the postseason once, DeBoer took over in San Jose with a young Joe Pavelski on his roster.

He led the 2015-16 Sharks to victories over the Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, and St. Louis Blues on their way to their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in their 25-year history. The Sharks fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who won the Cup in back-to-back seasons.

Vegas Golden Knights

Two years after their miraculous run to the Stanley Cup Final in their first season, Vegas brought in Pete DeBoer midway through the regular season. The team had lost in the first round the previous year and were struggling once again.

In the midst of the global pandemic, DeBoer led the Golden Knights to the Western Conference Final within the Edmonton bubble. In that series, they fell 4-1 to the Dallas Stars...

Dallas Stars

Speaking of the Dallas Stars...

DeBoer was a breath of fresh air for a team that had grown stale. The team was struggling mightily to score goals, had seemed to grow tired of the message from the current coaching staff, and needed a fresh start to bring out the best in both aspects of the game. DeBoer did just that.

The Stars got off to a blazing start in 2022-23, heavily outscoring opponents and shooting up the Western Conference standings, where they would remain for almost the entire season.

Despite falling into the second seed in the Central Division, Dallas defeated the Minnesota Wild in six games and the Seattle Kraken in seven to reach their second Conference Final in four seasons. He also moved to 7-0 in do-or-die Game 7's.

So Pete DeBoer has done it again. But, can he go one step further and bring a team to the Stanley Cup Final in his first year for the third time?