Glen Gulutzan Arrives, Minor and Major Projections for 2025-26, How the Stars Might Solve their Cap Situation, and a Jyrki Jokipakka Connection

There's a lot happening this week, and perhaps even after this week, too

First off, one of the cool things about Victory+ is how the Stars can handle events like today’s press conference. It was streamed live, and is also available for you to watch right now on the Victory+ website and app. It’s hard to believe it’s only been ten months since it launched.

Okay, let’s get to a lot of nuggets we learned both during the press conference and from some other conversations this week. I’ll highlight a couple things Gulutzan said that stuck out to me, but I’ll also have a few notes about other things, too.

• Glen Gulutzan is an easy guy to like. You could see it from the press conference—again, you should watch it—and you have heard it from a lot of other people around the league, too. But Nill emphasized today that what Gulutzan has learned from the painful lessons he’s endured (as recently as losing to Florida again) were really what made him stand out as a candidate.

• Gulutzan and his wife, Nicole, are now empty-nesters, after having four kids who lived the NHL life growing up and moving multiple times. One nice thing for the family is that Gulutzan’s daughter was already slated to be playing JUCO softball in Hillsboro, just a bit south of Dallas. So, once things lined up with him interviewing for the Dallas job, that was a big bonus: “When all of a sudden this lined up, I was like, ‘Oh boy, I’d better get this job.’”

• One of the funnier lines from today from Gulutzan was his joking about how he was suddenly realizing that his firing back in 2013 was actually part of a big reconaissance mission up through western Canada, as he went to Vancouver, Calgary, and then Edmonton. (And here we thought the Jamie Oleksiak trade(s) qualified as long-term planning!)

• It’s not unheard-of for an NHL team to bring back a former coach: Think Paul Maurice with the Hurricanes, Lindy Ruff with the Sabres, Daryl Sutter with the Flames, and even Ken Hitchcock with the Stars. But of all those, I think only Maurice was brought back by the same GM who fired him (Jim Rutherford). Jim Nill clearly believed that Gulutzan was the right coach for this team, and he wasn’t going to let ego stand in the way of doing what he believes is best for the team.

• I think more skeptical fans have been wondering about how confident Gulutzan will be as a coach, given their memories of his first tenure, when Gulutzan himself admits that Jim Nill was right to let him go. Nill himself has said that Gulutzan was probably hired a bit sooner than was best for him, but given the Stars’ financial situation at the time, the choices were more limited, and Gulutzan got the call.
  
  Confidence is a crucial part of the NHL, both behind the bench and on the ice. But Gulutzan voluntarily brought up confidence when he was asked about what piece of advice he would give to his younger self. His answer? That confidence comes from experience, and specifically from enduring hardship and struggling before you start to succeed. You can’t just skip the hard stuff to get to wisdom; it’s hard-earned, and you bring the scars with you.
  
  “I’ve put in the work. I’ve got kicked around. I’ve got the scars on me,” Gulutzan said. “Certainly I’m ready now.”
  
  You don’t have to believe him, but I will say that I am confident that Nill would not have hired Gulutzan if he didn’t think he was prepared to weather the hardship of being a head coach of a very good NHL team. Time will tell if he’s right, of course, but you have to admit it’s a pretty courageous decision, given how it could be perceived if things don’t work out. Nill is not going with a safe, low-risk play here. He’s trying to win a Stanley Cup.

• As for X’s and O’s, Gulutzan was asked about what play style the Stars would likely have, and he referred to an old Mike Sullivan joke: Every new coach says the exact same things about that question, like “We’re gonna play fast” as though any coach would ever say “We’re gonna be slow, more methodical.” Gulutzan was insistent that while he does have “some tweaks” to the Stars’ system that he didn’t want to divulge, the process of implementing the Stars’ system this season was going to be a collaborative one that fits the roster.

• However, Gulutzan later said the Stars need to “up our physicality a little bit, one degree through 82 games” in order to be able to better flip the playoff switch, when NHL hockey becomes more of a “hand to hand combat” sort of game. It sounds like he also plans to modify the forecheck a little bit, which you’d expect of any new coach, but Gulutzan emphasized that the Stars wouldn’t be “running around” looking for hits, partly because that’s not the roster they have.
  
  And hey, if their forecheck begins to look anything like Edmonton’s did for much of the third round, the Stars should benefit from that change.

• Gulutzan also confirmed that Neil Graham will be handling the forwards and the power play (Steve Spott’s former role) while Alain Nasreddine will retain his supervision over the defense and penalty kill. Gulutzan stressed that he had been fortunate, as a former assistant coach, to have a lot of autonomy in running those areas, so his plan is to give his own assistants the same level of autonomy he experienced, only helping when needed.
  
  Of course, only those assistants will be the ones who find out just how true that will be. But from everything Gulutzan has said in the past as well as today, that sort of trust is a big part of his approach as a coach. One clear shift in philosophy from Pete DeBoer to Gulutzan seems to be an emphasis on collaboration and humilty more than a top-down style by a well-respected coach, but it’s easy to collaborate before adversity strikes. Real trust is shown in the hardest moments (and real leadership, for that matter).

• Gulutzan also said something he’s said before: a variety of different systems can win a Stanley Cup in the NHL. It really isn’t about a couple of the best NHL coaches having the secret sauce, the way the top-tier NFL coaches might genuinely have a bigger wealth of play-calling options. You can’t get boxed in with your thinking.
  
  Gulutzan has worked with oustanding NHL coaches like Ken Hitchcock, Dave Tippett, Mike Sullivan, and Kris Knoblauch, among others. He’s acutely aware of the different options a coach has in running an NHL team’s system and approach, and one thing he’s learned is that you can’t try to impose an approach that doesn’t fit your roster.
  
  Frankly, that seems like a smart way to go (but what do I know). Of course, the proof will be in the pudding. Or, I guess, in the curated protein shake all players get after games.

• As for the assistant coaching vacancy left by Misha Donskov, Gulutzan said “if there is somebody else coming in, it’ll be in a lesser role” as opposed to someone who will also be involved with either Graham or Nasreddine’s areas of responsibility. Whether that’s as specifically tailored as Donskov’s prescout and video duties were remains to be seen, but it’ll be something to keep an eye on. Either way, it seems clear that Gulutzan sees the current coaching staff as the primary group when it comes to running the bench, so any extra coaching personnel would be supplemental. Assuming I’m interpreting the “lesser role” phrase correctly.

• Sean Shapiro also spoke with Nill on the phone today, so read his piece if you haven’t. But one thing Sean mentions that I’ve also heard is that the Stars wanted to know that they would have a head coach who has handled superstar players with big egos and paychecks. That’s not to say a coach like Neil Graham couldn’t do that, but bringing up Graham as an assistant coach is a much easier way for him to navigate that piece of the job without having all the head coaching pressure on him right off the bat, as Gulutzan did. And of course, Gulutzan has spent seven years coaching a power play with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, so he’s had plenty of experience now in doing so.

• Something you probably don’t know is that Gulutzan and Neil Graham have actually known each other for a long time—around ten years, in fact, when they met through a mutual friend. Graham and Gulutzan first sat down for a coffee together way back when Gulutzan was coaching in Calgary (where Graham also hails from), and they’ve kept in touch ever since. There is a lot of mutual respect there, not to mention their shared history in going from the ECHL to AHL Texas before going up to the NHL.
  
  Graham has interviewed with other NHL teams as well, so his prowess in coaching a power play is widely respected, as it should be. And given their relationship, one would expect Graham to be equally receptive of any help Gulutzan might need to lend. No one confirmed this, but I would think that relationship didn’t hurt either coach’s chances of winding up in Dallas.

• Graham’s wife and two sons are also moving up to Dallas over the summer to join him, so don’t worry: He won’t have to make the I-35 trip up and down just to see them.

• As for the Texas Stars’ coaching vacancy left by Graham’s promotion, it sounds like the organization has narrowed down that search to their last few candidates. They’ve considered both internal and external options, but I’ve said before that my guess is they’ll bring in someone from outside the organization this time around to fill that role rather that promote internally, even if it’s just for a shorter stint. But that is only a guess, to be clear, not a sourced report.
  
  That search had to begin fairly quickly once it became apparent Graham would be moving up to Dallas. Since the Texas Stars’ season went so late into the playoffs (they lost to the eventual champions, the Abbotsford Canucks), many of the possible candidates were already hired, so it has been critical to move quickly in order to ensure they were selecting from as wide a pool as possible.
  
  Either way, it’s a very good roster to coach, despite some departures from last year, and it would be a very appealing job for any coach looking to prove they can run the bench of a very compeitive professional hockey team. We’ll see who ends up getting the call.

• We know that Matěj Blümel is one of those departues, as he signed a one-way deal with Boston yesterday. But I’d imagine Blümel was slightly less ecstactic to see Boston also sign a host of other more lucrative contracts for players like Sean Kuraly and Tanner Jeannot to compete for the same role he’ll be trying to earn.
  
  In fact, you don’t even see the AHL’s leading goal-scorer among the top 13 forwards in projected starting lineups for Boston next year, which might mean he’ll have his work cut out for him to earn a lineup spot. Still, if he can do it, he’ll have more than earned it. Frankly, Blümel seems like a lower-cost add with good upside for a team like Boston than a couple of the players the Bruins added, but a lot of salary cap space makes GMs do silly things, sometimes. And also, it’s Boston: not much appetite for long rebuilds there, I’m guessing.

• One other note on Texas: Sean Shapiro reported today that Jim Nill expects captain Curtis McKenzie to return for another season, so keep an eye out for that announcement.

• As for the Dallas Stars, their salary cap situation made any moves like the silly Jeannot or Ivan Provorov contracts more or less impossible. They’re currently over the cap by just under $2 million, but my sense is they’re confident they’ll be able to clear that space without too much trouble.

• I think one of the reasons the Stars didn’t buy out Matt Dumba’s contract is that they believe that, if they had to, they could simply retain a portion of Dumba’s contract and move him now. They could even retain the maximum amount (half of it) to clear $1.875 million, and that would still immediately make them cap compliant, with their current roster. They have options, in other words.
  
  Going the trade route (even with retention) over a buyout would also avoid the situation they’re in this year, where Ryan Suter’s lingering buyout is still eating up cap space. I don’t think they wanted to keep kicking that can down the road.

• While Nill has said the Stars are still looking at some things in free agency, the Stars could also go into next year with five of the same defensemen they began last year with, only swapping in Lian Bichsel for Dumba’s spot.
  
  Harley-Heiskanen
  Lindell-Lundkvist
  Bichsel-Lyubshkin
  Petrovic
  
  That’s not a bad situation to begin the year with at all, quite honestly. At a certain point, you have to hope players like Bichsel and Lundkvist take another step in order to become dependable top-four players. Personally, I think that’s a good bet to make.

• With that said, just from looking at available UFAs right now, I can’t help but wonder if the Stars would like to add one more defenseman, if and when they move Dumba.
  
  There were some unsourced reports before July 1 about Ilya Lyubushkin supposedly being discussed the trade market, and that seemed odd to me, if it were true. At least, it did at first. But then I wondered: would the Stars do that in order to bring in Brent Burns on an incentive-laden deal, à la Jamie Benn?
  
  They’d have to make the money work (and they could probably move Lyubushkin if they absolutely had to). And you’d have to wonder how much tread is left on those tires, as the 40-year-old Burns looked a bit out of gas at points later in the season, particularly when Carolina was asking him to play 24 minutes a night against Florida in the playoffs.
  
  But considering the Stars were said to be interested in Burns three years ago before San Jose traded him to Carolina, he’s a name I always keep in the back of my mind, and more to the front lately now that Carolina didn’t opt to re-sign him (so far).
  
  I haven’t gotten anyone to bite on it so far, so maybe I’m just trying to connect dots that don’t connect. It’s called Stars Thoughts, after all, not Stars Clairvoyance. Read at Your Own Risk.

• Losing Magnus Hellberg this summer was a bummer for the Stars, as he was an ideal third goalie who could help Texas (as he did particularly well early in the season when Remi Poirier was still finding his game) while also providing an NHL backup option in case one of the Dallas goaltenders got hurt. The NHL goalies never did, however, and Hellberg spent the year in Texas before going back home to Sweden this year.
  
  However, there could be upside in Hellberg’s departure, too, as I don’t believe the Stars are looking to bring in another goalie to replace Hellberg, particularly after signing Arno Tiefensee out of Germany. Right now, it looks like Ben Kraws, Poirier, and Tiefensee will all be in that mix for the AHL net next year, so we’ll see how training camp goes in sorting that all out.
  
  If it helps, I can confirm Tiefensee is very, very large. (And that usually does help, in hockey these days.)

  

  Arno Tiefensee and Texas Stars’ Goaltender Development Coach Ryan Daniels in Frisco on July 1, 2025

• One of Tiefensee’s teammates back on Adler Mannheim? A Finnish defenseman named Jyrki Jokipakka, the former Dallas Star. And if you were thinking to yourself, “Man, I wish somebody would ask Arno Tiefensee about Jyrki Jokipakka,” then boy howdy, have you ever come to the right place, becuase that’s exactly what I did this week.
  
  ”It’s fun,” said Tiefensee of playing with Jokipakka. “He’s a quiet guy, like a typical Finn, but such a great guy, fun to be around. Good defenseman, obviously.” Tiefensee then chuckles. “He played in the show, so he must be doing something right.”

• Jokipakka was a seventh-round¹ pick for Dallas way back in 2011, but he carved out an NHL career for himelf because, as Tiefensee said, he was certainly doing something right.

  Jokipakka played two seasons for Dallas in 2014-15 and 2015-16 before being part of the Stars’ deadline deal for Kris Russell in 2016, sending Jokipakka to Calgary as part of a package for the veteran defender. Jokipakka would play one more season in Calgary in 2016-17, and his head coach during that season? Someone named…Glen Gulutzan.

1. A list of all seventh-round picks by Dallas to play in the NHL so far: Jokipakka, Jeff MacMillen, Dylan Ferguson, and the best of them all, Antti Miettinen.