DeBoer has ‘privilege’ of reaching Western Final again as Stars coach

DALLAS -- If it seems like we write this every year, that’s because we do.

Pete DeBoer is back in the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, chasing his first championship.

It’s an incredible accomplishment on its own that DeBoer will coach the Dallas Stars against the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final, starting in Game 1 at American Airlines Center on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).

Imagine if he finally hoists the Stanley Cup.

“To be in the final four that many times is a privilege,” DeBoer said. “Just got to try to end up in the top spot one of these times.”

That quote is actually from last year, but it works just as well this year.

DeBoer has appeared in the playoffs 10 times as an NHL coach. Eight times -- including the past six straight -- he has advanced at least as far as the third round.

He has gone to the Stanley Cup Final twice, with the New Jersey Devils in 2012 and the San Jose Sharks in 2016. He took the Sharks to the third round in 2019 and the Vegas Golden Knights there in 2020 and 2021, and he has taken the Stars there three times in a row.

He has won 96 playoff games, tied with Mike Keenan for fifth in NHL history behind Scotty Bowman (223), Al Arbour (123), Joel Quenneville (121) and Dick Irvin (100), and 19 best-of-7 series, fourth in NHL history behind Bowman (47), Quenneville (23) and Arbour (21).

Of course, Keenan won the Cup. Bowman, Arbour, Quenneville and Irvin each won it multiple times. Only Pat Quinn (183) has coached more playoff games without winning the Cup than DeBoer (174) has.

“He’s been there, hasn’t gotten the result that he wanted, so I think he’s learned from previous experiences,” goalie Jake Oettinger said.

Some things you’ll notice about DeBoer: He creates his own narrative around which the team can rally. He spreads credit and defends his guys. That binds people together and helps them buy in.

In the first round against the Colorado Avalanche, DeBoer told the players no one had picked them to win because of injuries to defenseman Miro Heiskanen and forward Jason Robertson. He told them outsiders didn’t show enough respect to the guys who were in the room. It created an underdog attitude -- even though the Stars finished fifth in the NHL in the regular season, the Avalanche eighth -- and Dallas won in seven games. DeBoer is 9-0 in Game 7s, setting the NHL record for Game 7 wins.

In the second round against the Winnipeg Jets, DeBoer talked about how the players were willing to accept hard coaching, starting with the leaders. Whatever he said privately, in public he took pressure off players struggling offensively by emphasizing the Stars were playing the top team -- and the top defensive team -- in the regular season. After Dallas won in six games, he was asked about himself. He stuck up for others instead.

“What I’m proud of is my coaching staff,” DeBoer said. “We’re where we are this year in the playoffs because of our special teams and our goaltending. Our 5-on-5 play’s been good, but our special teams and our goaltending have been exceptional. That’s Jeff Resse, Steve Spott, Alain Nasreddine.

“When it goes the other way, when our power play was bottom of the League the first two months of the year, those guys took a lot of flak, so they should get a lot of credit, because that’s carried us through two rounds, allowed us to get healthy and get Miro back in the lineup and get Robertson back in the lineup.”

Another thing you’ll notice about DeBoer: Sometimes less is more.

Although DeBoer has said many times he enjoys the unique challenge of coaching in a playoff series -- facing one team game after game, making adjustments -- the foundation is laid during training camp and the regular season.

“Any coach can make adjustments, but I think there has to be a respect level from both sides from player and coach for the buy-in, and I think that’s what he does a good job of,” forward Tyler Seguin said. “Starting from Day 1 of training camp, there’s a respect and a relationship established from him to the group, from him to individuals. …

“It’s always been black and white. There’s no gray areas. I’ve been on teams where there’s sometimes some gray. I feel like as a group, we know where the puck’s going most of the time based off of our rules, if you want to call it, or just our system, and that’s from Pete.”

Once he gets to the playoffs, DeBoer lets the players play, in a sense.

“At this point in the season, there’s not a lot that he can do as far as when it comes to effort and stuff, so I think he does a good job of relying on the leadership that we have in here,” Oettinger said. “It’s on us now to bring that energy.

“We all know the systems. Like, they’ve pounded it into us. We know how he wants us to play. He does a good job of turning it over to the guys and letting us take the ball and not try to overstep and do too much, which is what I think good coaches do.”

Seguin said DeBoer separates himself on days between games, projecting calm.

“I don’t know how other teams are,” Seguin said. “But there’s definitely a comfort in situations where maybe you wouldn’t think there should be, and that starts at the top with Pete, and it trickles down to leadership and just keeping the ship straight.”

DeBoer can be intense and fiery. But at least in front of the media, he seems looser overall in Dallas than he did in, say, San Jose. He’ll share more information, crack jokes and frame adversity as the beauty of the playoffs. Maybe instead of growing frustrated chasing the Cup, he has become philosophical.

Maybe that will help him win it.

“If he was showing how bad he wants it, it would become too emotional, probably,” Seguin said. “It would become too high and low, and I think his balance is where he separates (himself). But I know internally how bad he wants it, how bad that group back there (in the coaches room) wants it.

“I know how much fun they have with the journey, and that’s us as players too, right? You can get so caught in this trap of playoffs and emotions and sleep. You’ve got to have fun with it.”