Olympic break evaluation: Glen Gulutzan finding success amid crazy first season back with Stars

When asked about if he was excited for the three-week Olympic break, Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re never looking forward to breaks when you’ve won five in a row,” he said with a smile on Feb. 3. “But at the end of the day, you know it’s coming and, in this league, you don’t get these very often. You might as well take advantage of it.”

Of course, that feeling only amplified as the Stars defeated the Blues in dramatic fashion the following night. The win boosted Dallas to a season-high sixth straight victory and propelled them into the break on a high note. But after the wild twists and turns that have come with the 2025-26 season, the break provides a much-needed opportunity to breathe, step back and assess both all that has happened.

And there’s plenty to unpack.

When the Stars hired Glen Gulutzan for the second time back on July 1, there was a sense of nervous anticipation that accompanied the move. Exciting thoughts of what a new head coach that had been behind the bench in the previous two Stanley Cup Finals were met with a dose of caution. Was making a coaching change after Pete DeBoer had helped lead the Stars to three straight Western Conference Finals a good idea? Would it create a dose of regression? Would the team regret not sticking to its same successful game plan?

But through 57 games, the Dallas Stars of today look much like the Dallas Stars of recent years: well-balanced, brimming with depth and sitting in the top five of the NHL standings.

Gulutzan deserves a lot of credit for that.

“Four months in now and it’s still a little bit surreal,” Gulutzan said of his second run in Dallas. “Mostly with the players and the team and how dedicated our team is to trying to win. That’s been a real difference, not from when I’ve been here before, but just a team that’s had this much success and then just watching how dedicated they are to winning and trying to be better.

Of course, that mindset is nothing new around Dallas. The Stars posted an NHL-best record of 149-68-29 (.665) over the previous three regular seasons. No team in the NHL has played in more playoff games (103) or posted more playoff wins (54) than Dallas since the start of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. And yet, they’re the only team in the top five of playoff wins without a Stanley Cup over the span. As a result, the hunger just keeps on growing.

That consistent hunger hasn’t always been the case in Big D, especially in Gulutzan’s first stint from 2011-13. Bankruptcy, a lockout, a lengthy playoff drought and dwindling attendance were just a handful of the themes that overshadowed the franchise as a 40-year-old Gulutzan took his first swing at NHL coaching. Two of the team’s top five scorers in his second season as head coach were the same age as him (Ray Whitney and Jaromir Jagr). For comparison’s sake, the Stars’ top seven scorers this season are all under the age of 30.

Simply put, a lot has changed both o and off the ice since 2013.

“The growth is crazy to me,” Gulutzan said. “Coming to the rink and seeing all of the people watching practice or going to the preseason games and seeing all of the people attending. Probably the biggest thing that struck me was our home opener with how many people were outside [before the game]. Since I left here, Tom [Gaglardi], Jim [Nill], Brad [Alberts] and everybody that has been involved building this has done such a great job. It’s changed the whole dynamic of hockey for me in this town.”

Of course, the winning dynamic plays a part in that. Gulutzan has kept the tradition of success humming along as the Stars posted an impressive 34-14-9 record heading into the break. They own the fourth-best points percentage (.675) and are top ten in goals per game and goals against per game.

But while the previous three seasons had a “Groundhog Day” feel to them, this season has been a different journey altogether. There’s the compressed schedule which had the Stars play 12 games in a 21-day span at one point and will also see them play the final 25 games over a 50-day stretch. It’s also the first full season with Mikko Rantanen in Victory Green, which has created a new need for line shuffling and managing an elite supporting cast.

The Olympics sparked a new level of anticipation, which created the potential for distractions. And to top it all off, he and the rest of the team have had to navigate a wild rash of injuries. Among the forwards group, captain Jamie Benn missed 22 games, Matt Duchene missed 25 and Tyler Seguin has been out since Dec. 2 with an ACL injury. In the back end, Nils Lundkvist, Thomas Harley and Lian Bichsel have all missed substantial time as well. Only five Stars skaters have yet to miss a game.

It’s been nothing short of a juggling act with chainsaws and swords, but Dallas hasn’t been fazed. Gulutzan is the first to give the players a lot of the credit, but is also quick to shout out his coaching staff.

Neil Graham has the Stars power play clicking at 29.9% (second in NHL) in his first year as an NHL assistant, while Alain Nasreddine is in his fourth season coaching the Dallas defense and penalty kill. Gulutzan brought in David Pelletier from Edmonton to serve as another assistant coach and to be an “eye in the sky” on game nights, while Jeff Reese is in his 11th year as the Dallas goaltending coach.

“To have those guys with me has been a tremendous help,” Gulutzan said. “Reeser has been a tremendous help for me as a veteran guy with the goaltenders. Nas and Grammer have helped me grow as a coach, and that’s all you can ask for. When you’re in this business, you always want to hire the best people. I know I’ve got really good people that have helped me more than I thought some coaches could.”

It’s all come together rather nicely through the first 57 games, but Gulutzan knows this is merely a checkpoint. As the non-Olympian Stars continue practicing this week in Frisco and prepare to resume play on Wednesday, their focus will be on the task at hand: the sprint to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

And as has been the case for most of the season, they’re in the thick of a three-horse race with the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild for seeding and supremacy.

“I think when you’re running neck and neck with people, it makes you better and helps you keep your edge,” Gulutzan said of the race. “You have to keep pushing and finding different ways to get above those teams you’re running with. You’re looking for any edge you can get, whether it be psychological, tactical, physical or whatever you can find because it is that close.

“There are other teams that are getting up and want to win, and I’ve been on one. The challenge now becomes how do we get ahead of them? If everyone has the same internal ‘why,’ then what differentiates us? That’s what keeps you going as a coach is trying to find different ways to motivate and push us to a different level.

The difference maker might just be giving “one percent” more, a motto Gulutzan has preached since his introductory press conference on July 2. The coach has focused on keeping a lot of the Stars’ successful systems and habits in place while trying to turn a few key areas up one degree in hopes of getting the team over the hump.

“I’ve seen it in a few areas for sure,” Gulutzan said of the team’s growth. “Our next battle will be consistency, longevity and keeping it going for a long period of time. If you are going to take that one percent in the playoffs, it probably has to go 28 games. At the end of the day, that’s what we’re trying to push here. We got away from it for a little while, but we have to get back to it.”

Their next chance comes on Wednesday against the Kraken as the playoff push clicks into high gear. And as a coach who knows plenty about handling challenges, Gulutzan wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Josh Clark is a writer for DallasStars.com. Follow him on X @Josh_Clark02.