Predictability, Details, and a "Pressure Identity": An Interview with Pete DeBoer

Stars Thoughts spoke with Pete DeBoer last week

Despite how the regular season ended for Dallas, the franchise is in a very good place right now.

The Stars have finished the regular season with over 100 points for three straight seasons under Pete Deboer, which is something the Stars hadn’t done since Ken Hitchcock’s Stars teams 25 years ago. In fact, the Stars hadn’t even put up two 100-point seasons in a row before DeBoer’s tenure since 2005-07, under Dave Tippett.

That recent success is even more noticeable when it comes to the playoffs, as DeBoer’s Stars have been to two consecutive Western Conference Finals—another thing this franchise hadn’t done since Hitchcock’s Cup-winning tenure.

But the thing about success is that it only adds more pressure to stay at the top. And for a coach like DeBoer, who has yet to summit the mountain of a Stanley Cup championship, the pressure gets higher each year he coaches another successful regular season. All past success fades away once the playoffs begin, and all the old questions get louder each time the season ends without the ultimate goal being accomplished.

Still, DeBoer has had a lot of success in his career. He’s a veteran coach of 18 NHL seasons who is 17th all-time in NHL wins as a coach. He won a Memorial Cup with Kitchener in 2003, and he also won a gold medal as an assistant coach on Todd McClellan’s Team Canda staff at the 2015 IIHF World Championships.

DeBoer has also gotten close to those magical 16 playoff wins in the NHL twice. He took New Jersey to a Cup Final in his first season with the Devils in 2012 before doing the same in his debut year with San Jose in 2016.

With Dallas, DeBoer will be hoping that the 2025 Stars joins that list, in addition to starting a brand new one for him.

I had a chance to speak with DeBoer last week after practice to chat about some of his history, as well as this team and this season. And the afternoon before the playoffs begin seems like the perfect time to share it.

So, read on to hear about what DeBoer learned from climbing the coaching ladder starting way down at the bottom, the moment when he first knew Wyatt Johnston was a special player, and why DeBoer thinks this year’s Stars team could be a special one.

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Stars Thoughts: It’s been an interesting year, what with the compressed schedule, the trip to Finland, and your missing training camp with an appendectomy. How unique has this season been for you?

Pete DeBoer: There’s a lot of adversity this year. I’m proud of our coaching group, particularly the guys on my staff, I thought they really worked their ass off.

I wasn’t here for a lot of training camp because of the appendectomy, and we had a lot of guys start slow. The power play started really slow. We battled key defenseman going down to losing Miro Heiskanen, so Nas [Alain Nasreddine] is dealing with that.

So, I thought every department had their own adversities to deal with. And I’m really proud of the work they put in to get us to the point we’re at this year.