"This is a special place," DeBoer said. "I wanted to thank Bill Foley and the people of Vegas, they welcomed an arch enemy with open arms. I loved my time here. I kept my house here. Probably will consider retiring here. It's nice to be back and it's nice to see familiar faces. I thought we played a lot of really good hockey in the short time I was here. I've got a lot of respect for the players."
DeBoer went 98-50-12 in three seasons with the Golden Knights. He took them to the Western Conference finals his first two seasons and was in first place at the All-Star Break last season. However, Vegas suffered serious injuries, struggled down the stretch and then missed the playoffs. DeBoer was fired after that and quickly found a job in Dallas. Ironically, Stars coach Rick Bowness was also let go, and at the same time Boston let go of Bruce Cassidy. Now, DeBoer has the Stars flying, Cassidy has the Golden Knights in a good place, and Bowness has resurrected the Jets. It's a strange job, for sure.
DeBoer said the coaching-go-round proves there are some good coaches in the NHL and that all these teams have good talent. He said he feels fortunate to land in a place like Dallas
"I've enjoyed the culture and the fit in the organization," he said. "Joe Pavelski helps. Jim Nill is a guy I've known since he was scouting for the Detroit Red Wings. They've got a great culture, great room, it's an enjoyable place to come to work every day. I feel we've kind of seamlessly fit into it."
That said, he also enjoyed the fit in Vegas, but change seems to be inevitable in this sport.
"In hindsight and reflection, I'm proud of how we handled it," DeBoer said of the adversity and injuries. "It's not easy. Hindsight is showing that while we didn't get done what we wanted to do, it wasn't for lack of effort on players or staff, and I'm proud of that."
There is a long way to go this season, but Monday's game does pit two of the top teams in the Western Conference. Could they possibly meet in the playoffs?
"When you've been through what I went through last year where I coached in the All-Star Game and then was fired four months later, I'm not taking anything for granted right now," DeBoer said with a smile.
Key Numbers
13-11-0
Vegas is 13-11-0 at home and 15-3-2 on the road. Dallas is 13-7-4 on the road and 12-5-3 at home.
801
Vegas leads the NHL in blocked shots at 801. Dallas is 11th at 658.
8-2
Dallas is 8-2 in games that have gone past regulation this season. Dallas is 3-7.
He said it
"I don't think any parts of our game were good enough for a long enough period tonight to deserve a win."
- Stars coach Pete DeBoer after a 6-5 loss to Calgary.
Expected lineup
Robertson-Seguin-Pavelski
Benn-Johnston-Marchment
Olofsson-Faksa-Dellandrea
Kiviranta-Glendening-Gurianov
Heiskanen-Miller
Lindell-Hakanpää
Suter-Lundkvist
Oettinger
Wedgewood
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.
