Ready for it: Gulutzan excited to bring experience, knowledge to second stint with Stars

Glen Gulutzan admits that he probably wasn’t the right man to coach the Stars when he was first hired in 2011.

But he sure believes he’s the right man now.

“Because of the scars,” the 53-year-old bench boss said when asked why he is better today than back then. “I’ve been there, I’ve checked the boxes. This is a league where you’ve got to get some wounds on you, some scars, you’ve got to go through the process and you’ve got to gain some experience.”

Gulutzan was elevated from the Texas Stars in the AHL back in 2011, having not even coached a game as an assistant in the NHL. He was an affordable option for a team in bankruptcy, and he had his struggles in going 42-35-5 and missing the playoffs. He missed the postseason again in his second year during a lockout-shortened campaign, and when new GM Jim Nill was hired at the end of that season, Gulutzan was relieved of his duties.

While that was tough to take, it was the right move, Gulutzan said, because it started him on the journey that made him a much better coach. Gulutzan went on to coach as an assistant in Vancouver, was named head coach in Calgary for two years, and then spent the past seven years as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oilers. All of that combines to make him the best candidate to take over the Stars, Nill said.

“I know how much experience matters,” Gulutzan said Wednesday. “You don’t realize it when you’re a young guy, you just don’t. But once you start working with veteran guys and you stay in the league, it didn’t take me long to realize that’s what I need.”

Gulutzan has coached with John Tortorella, Mike Sullivan, Ken Hitchcock, Dave Tippett and more recently with a young coach in Kris Knoblauch who has helped get the Oilers to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals. That’s a world of experience.

“His resume has prepared him for this opportunity,” said Nill. “It’s one thing to have success, but you’ve got to go through the tough times. It’s those tough times when you find out who you are. That’s what Glen has done. He’s made himself a better coach because of it and a better person because of it.”

Gulutzan will now work with a new coaching staff as Texas Stars head coach Neil Graham has been elevated to assistant coach. Graham will join with veteran assistant Alain Nasreddine and goalie coach Jeff Reese to run the team. Another assistant might be added that Gulutzan will name, but he said that person would be in a role under Graham and Nasreddine. Graham is expected to run the forwards and the power play, while Nasreddine will continue to run the defense and the penalty kill. Gulutzan was running the Oilers power play in Edmonton, so he went head-to-head with Nasreddine on several occasions in the last two conference finals.

“We’ll start with PK. That thing is a pain in the butt. That’s his baby, that’s his thing,” Gulutzan said. “And Grammer, the power play, that’s his baby. When I worked, I had autonomy. I ran the penalty kill in Vancouver for three years and then I went to Edmonton and I ran the power play. I had complete autonomy to do what I wanted and I’m going to do the same thing with those guys. We’ll all help each other, that’s the way it has to be.”

Graham, 40, has been in the Stars organization for 13 years. He was an assistant coach in Idaho in Gulutzan’s last season in Dallas, so the two know each other.

“Gully I’ve known for a while,” Graham said. “He’s a person I admire and I look up to him. To have a chance to work with him, I’m very excited.”

Graham also knows a lot of the players. As a coach with the Texas Stars since 2019, he has worked with Jason Robertson, Jake Oettinger, Thomas Harley, Mavrik Bourque, Oskar Bäck, and Lian Bichsel, among others. He also helped the team to the Western Conference Final in the AHL this past season and will be a key to helping those players transition to the NHL.

“That part really excites me,” Graham said of his familiarity. “I’ve coached several players on the current roster and I’ve interacted with all of them, really. That’s the part that made this so easy. This is where I wanted to be, I wanted to work in Dallas and I wanted to help this organization continue to grow.”

Likewise, Gulutzan will reconnect with captain Jamie Benn, who he coached in the AHL and NHL.

“That’s one advantage that I have: I actually coached him in Austin in the playoffs and then two years here,” Gulutzan said. “I’ve stayed in contact with him. For me, the biggest thing with Jamie is going right back to Austin…let’s finish this thing off.”

The team that Benn was on lost to Hershey in the Calder Cup Final. With both Benn and Gulutzan having come close at different points in their careers, neither has won a championship yet.

Because Pete DeBoer was fired despite getting to three Western Conference Finals, both Nill and Gulutzan were asked if this is now “Stanley Cup or bust” for the Stars.

“I’ve got too much respect for the game [to say that],” Nill said. “It is so hard to win in pro sports. That’s our goal to win the Stanley Cup, and we’re going to do the best we can.”

Gulutzan added, “There are only seven or eight teams that can realistically win the Stanley Cup, and Dallas is one of them. The goal is to win the Cup, and we’re one of the teams that can.”

To do that, Gulutzan said he will tweak some things stylistically with the Stars. Edmonton beat Dallas in each of the past two seasons and outsiders criticized the Stars for not being physical enough. Dallas ranked 31st in the regular season (out of 32 teams) in hits per game at 15.1 during the regular season and 16th in the playoffs (out of 16 teams) at 30.5.

“What I would like to do right from the start is we’ve got to up our physicality a little bit, one degree through 82 games, because you can’t just turn that switch on, you have to build it in,” Gulutzan said. “We’re not going to be running around, because we’ve got too good of players, but there has to be an element of physicality so we’re better prepared for the playoffs. That’s something we can do. Wherever you put your energy, that’s where you get a little bit of a pop, and we’re going to put our energy there, we’re going to ask a little more from our guys.”

As for style of play, Gulutzan said he would get with the coaching staff and find a fit for the roster. He said he used to try to get his team to adjust to his vision, but said he has learned that doesn’t work.

“I’m going to look at our roster with our coaches, and we have great coaches, and we’re going to take a deep dive,” Gulutzan said. “I’ve worked with five different coaches and I’ve played for a lot of systems. We’re going to put together a system of what’s best for us. Now, I’ve got a couple of tweaks in mind. I’m not going to mention them, but at the end of the day we’re going to put something together that’s best for the Dallas Stars and the personnel that we have.”

And that is part of growing up and getting those scars.

“I was a younger guy, I didn’t make any adjustments, I knew one way to play,” Gultzan said of his first run with the Stars. “Now, you bring in all of that experience, and you learn. The guy I was 12 years ago, he never dealt with them. This guy has dealt with them.”

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 X @MikeHeika.