Ahh, comes the time again where coaches, general managers, and other types of personnel get fired from the teams. Usually after the regular season, it's the coaches. Right now, four coaches have gotten the gate. Ottawa fired Cory Cluston, Minnesota fired Todd Richards, Florida fired Peter DeBoer, and Dallas fired Marc Crawford.
I think the most surprising name out of all these people is mostly Marc Crawford. Now I'm going to say this and if I said it again, then I apologize. I am a hater of the Dallas Stars as are most of other hockey fans in the world, mainly the Ducks (my team), Sharks, Kings, and Bruins. But do we really give any credit to general manager Joe Nieuwendyk for his handling of this situation?
One of Marc Crawford's best seasons as a coach probably had to be this one. He almost led the Dallas Stars into the playoffs and would've gotten it if they had beaten Minnesota, which they didn't. (By the way, I thank the Wild for that.) He came back late and scored some big victories that led to the final stretch of a few series. He was great with Vancouver and Los Angeles and it would've been fine by me had he kept going for another season.
As we had saw, Joe Nieuwendyk was definitely ready for a new regime in his office and it started out with a new coach. We won't know who the coach is for probably a while, but I'm guessing it is someone that Nieuwendyk feels he can carry the team to the next level.
I personally like Marc Crawford for his sense of play and his attitude towards the game, though sometimes it can get a little rough and a little heated at times. He is certainly a coach that takes the game well, and it seems like Dallas was headed in the right direction.
Now that Crawford is out, what else is next? Will the Dallas Stars falter next season? After all, Brad Richards is a free agent and he might go where the money brings him. Looks like Dallas started off again at Square One and it looks like more things will be set in motion for an almost-playoff team.
I agree. I't Nieuwendyk, not Crawford, that performed below par. Crawford is a great coach. It's going to be interesting to see how Nieuwendyk handles the Richards signing since he didn't trade him for any assets.
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Crawford will find a job somewhere, but I don't know if Brad Richards will decide to resign with Dallas. He might go somewhere else like Detroit, San Jose, etc.
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