The Stars and Golden Knights play Game 1 of the best-of-7 series at Rogers Place in Edmonton, the hub city for the conference finals and Stanley Cup Final, on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVAS, SN).
"We've had those conversations [with Joe]," Dallas coach Rick Bowness said Saturday. "We talked last night a little bit and again this morning.... We have the luxury of video, to take our time and break it down, and then talk to [Pavelski] about tying it all together.
"We know what we're up against, Pete's a great coach, been in this League a long time. He's done a wonderful job wherever he's been. So he's got a very good team to coach and he's got them playing great hockey. So it helps having a little insight from [Pavelski] as well."
DeBoer coached Pavelski for four seasons with the San Jose Sharks, 2015-19, when Pavelski was the Sharks captain.
During that stint, the Sharks qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs each season and won six playoff series, including advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016, when they lost in six games to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Pavelski signed a three-year, $21 million contract with the Stars as an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2019. DeBoer was fired by the Sharks on Dec. 11, 2019 and hired by the Golden Knights on Jan. 15, 2020.
Now they are opponents in the conference final.
"It's tough," DeBoer said Saturday. "He sent [assistant Steve Spott] and I a text last night congratulating us and in typical Joe fashion said we'll talk to you after the series is over. He's got his game face on. There will be no communication.
"He's there for one thing and that's to win and you respect the hell out of him for that attitude because when you were coaching him, that's what you loved about him and that's what carried a lot of the teams we had through the runs we went on."
In addition to his 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in 16 postseason games, Pavelski, in his 14th NHL season, is a wealth of knowledge.
Earlier in the playoffs in the Edmonton bubble, Pavelski and DeBoer crossed paths and DeBoer said he learned something about defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who leads the Stars with 21 points (five goals, 16 assists) in 16 games.
"He's special," DeBoer said. "… What Joe says about him, both as a player and a person, carries the most weight. He says this kid's a superstar. You can see that on the ice and a lot like Shea Theodore on our end, you can see him growing and getting better every time he steps out there."
