Dallas Stars closing in on deal to hire Peter DeBoer as coach

According to a source, the Dallas Stars are close in on a contract with Peter DeBoer to be their new coach.

It was first reported by TSN.

After being fired by the Vegas Golden Knights at the end of the season, Pete DeBoer will take over a young team that advanced to the Western Conference playoffs but lost to the Flames in seven games.

The Dallas Stars will be the fifth NHL team to use DeBoer as a coach, and he led two of them to the Stanley Cup Final. He has led teams to the playoffs in seven of his NHL seasons.

Despite having several high-priced forwards on the roster, the Golden Knights failed to make the playoffs this year.

The Golden Knights, who had never failed to qualify for the playoffs in their five-year history, finished with a 43-31-8 record and 94 points.

"I want to be back," DeBoer said in the end-of-season media availability. I would like to coach this team.

Vegas replaced him with Bruce Cassidy last week. Jim Nill of Dallas swooped in and signed DeBoer.

"The reality of this season, and what I'll look back 10 years from now, is 500 man games lost, that bled into everything we did," DeBoer said after Vegas' season ended. Only one other team finished last in their division.

In Dallas, where DeBoer will replace Rick Bowness, he will have high-end skill on offense and a promising goaltender in Jake Oettinger, 23, who starred in the first-round loss to the Flames. Despite the loss, Oettinger made 64 saves.

The Stars, who advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020 under Bowness, also feature first-line stars in both Robertson and Hintz, as well as a pair of veterans in Jamie Benn.

I really like this franchise. I like this city very much. Nill said after the season ended that he thought they had a special thing going here. I'm looking forward to the future.

Bowness, who led the Stars to the 2020 Cup Final, stepped down from his post after the team's Game 7 loss to the Flames.

The first stop on DeBoer's NHL coaching career was with the Florida panthers.

Greg Wyshynski was a contributor.