Collective mindset: Stars coaching staff strengthened through adversity

The Dallas Stars coaching staff has been forged in chaos.
They were shaken to the core when Jim Montgomery was terminated in December 2019, Rick Bowness was promoted to head coach and Derek Laxdal was brought up from the minors.

They were given a chance to reset when they went into the Edmonton playoff bubble.
They were wracked by frustration when injuries decimated the team, and they had to deal with a greatly compressed schedule, eventually missing the playoffs.
And now, as they prepare to head into a "normal" 82-game hockey season, this group of men might be in the perfect spot in their development.
"They've really had no normalcy at all, so I give them a lot of credit," said Stars general manager Jim Nill. "They're an experienced group, they tackle things head on daily, and I think the players respect them for that."

The men inside the room feel a definite strength from fighting through the past two seasons.
"I believe adversity galvanizes you, and I believe this team has been galvanized," said Laxdal, who was called up and took over the power play in 2019.
He said that going through that kind of sudden change was difficult, but it was good for him. He said going through the Edmonton bubble and being away from family was adversity, and that it was something that helped bring the coaching staff together. He said surviving last season with a four-game postponement for COVID, a four-game postponement for an ice storm, and a crammed schedule down the stretch, made everyone grow.
"What we went through, I think that'll help us," Laxdal said. "The core is back, and now we've become a tighter family."
Laxdal, 55, served as a head coach with the Idaho Steelheads, the Edmonton Oil Kings and the Texas Stars, so getting called up and changing his role was tough. Still, his dream has always been to coach in the NHL, and he said living the dream with this group has been fantastic. Bowness served as an assistant coach for most of his NHL career. He came in as an experienced veteran who could work behind the scenes, but then was thrust into the captain's chair.
Now, he must make the ultimate decisions, but the irony is his experience and vision as an assistant coach allows him to do so judiciously. He asks for everyone's opinion and then formulates a plan.
"Rick is the head coach and what he wants is how we're going to play," said Todd Nelson, who joined the Stars as an assistant coach in 2018. "But what he does is he gives us latitude to throw out different ideas. We might not choose that idea, but we'll throw it out and we'll spitball, and all be on the same page when we're done."
Bowness said his experience has taught him to be adaptable. He doesn't get too riled up about any challenge, and he knows there are different ways to attack a problem.
"I don't think we overanalyze it," Bowness said. "This is who we are, this is what we bring to the table, this is what I need from you. It's more that."
"We're all experienced coaches and that makes the adjustment a lot easier," he added. "We've gotten to know each other and on every decision, everyone has input, so everyone is on board, and that helps. This is a good staff."
Bowness is 66. He started as an assistant coach with Winnipeg in 1983. He's been behind the bench for more games than any coach in NHL history. He was brought to Dallas to help Montgomery in 2018, and he also was the clear candidate to take over when the coach was fired.
Stevens is 55. He's good friends with Montgomery and was brought in by the then-head coach in 2019. It was a great hire, as Stevens has 386 games as an NHL head coach and 480 as an AHL bench boss.
Nelson worked with Nill in the Red Wings organization and was head coach of the AHL Grand Rapid Griffins for three seasons.

Laxdal has had a strong relationship with assistant GM Scott White for years and was picked by White to lead the Texas Stars.
"They all came here in different ways, but they all came with great resumes and a lot of respect," Nill said.
It's an interesting mix, but it's a solid mix of experience and personalities.
"We've all been head coaches and we all understand what goes on, and I think that helps," Laxdal said. "This is the first time in 19 years that I haven't been a head coach, so it's been good to sit back and watch Bones, sit back and watch John and sit back and watch Nelly. It helps you grow as a coach. What each guy brings is actually really special."
There's a real respect in the group, and that makes things easy and fun. The coaching staff, which also includes goalie coach Jeff Reese and video coaches Kelly Forbes and Matt Rodell, gets together and plans for practices and meetings, but also gets together just to talk.
"Sitting around and having dinner with the coaching staff is one of my favorite times," Nelson said. "When we were in the bubble, that was great to sit around and just talk about everything, mostly hockey, but everything really."
Those talks allow the individuals to share ideas and opens the door to conversations at practice or on a bus. While Stevens coaches the defensemen, he'll be talking to forwards about breakouts or the penalty kill. When Laxdal runs the power play, he'll be interacting with forwards.
Reese will do a lot of pre-scouting, meaning he has to help forge a lot of the staff's message.
"I think it's important that we're all on the same page because we do talk to players outside of our area of responsibility," Stevens said. "I just think that it's important because you want the message to be clear. You want it to be one message."
Finding that message has been a process that also has brought the coaching staff together. After surviving the midseason changes in 2019-20, they also had to survive the COVID shutdown. When they came back together in June 2020 to get ready for the bubble, Bowness led a charge to make some changes, and that helped the team advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
"Going into the bubble, we had time to talk, and we all agreed that we wanted a few simple things that we wanted to be really good at," Stevens said. "We wanted the D always joining off the puck, and I think that has really helped us. I think the guys like the way we play. It's a brand of hockey that's enjoyable to play and watch, and we feel good about that. We really tried to hone in on some fundamental things, and I think that has helped. I call it `freedom with discipline.' If you have discipline with structure, we're going to give you the freedom to play."

While injuries and scheduling put a few dents in that philosophy last season, the coaching staff believes the ideals of the bubble will be prevalent this year.
"I do think we've tried to improve in areas that haven't been our strength, and I think offense is one of those, but I do think we're coming there," Stevens said. "I like the way we play. I like that we have a philosophy we can believe in, and I think it's going to give us a chance to have some success here."
Because growth doesn't stop.
"When we had that mini training camp, I thought that's when we really meshed," Laxdal said. "We had a lot of different tactical ideas that we wanted to implement. And I think we did a good job of getting that team on the same page quickly. This year, we want to tackle overtime and shootouts, so you're always working on something, and that's why it's good that we're open with each other. You're always trying to solve problems, and new problems are always coming up."
The 2021-22 season begins Thursday in New York, and the challenges are already starting. Blake Comeau and Jason Robertson are out with upper-body injuries, so the coaches will have to adapt. They play eight of the first 11 games on the road, and the coaches will have to adapt.
"I've been through lockouts, and I've been through it all," Bowness said. "You just put it in pencil and move on. The whole organization has been through a lot in the last two years. There are things you can predict, but we never saw this coming. Now we're back to normal."
A normal that might seem like taking off the weighted donut in the batting circle, a normal forged through some pretty heavy experiences, a normal where spending all of this time together isn't really that hard.
"It's a good group," Laxdal said. "It seems like we've been together for 10 years. You know, I think it's as simple as we all get along."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.