Stars' Pete DeBoer Firing Shows Tough Coaching Culture

This isn't to say that the Stars made the wrong decision by firing DeBoer. Quite frankly, he was out-coached in each of the three Western Conference Final losses, and him essentially throwing star goaltender Jake Oettinger under the bus following the latest defeat was a very bad look. Maybe a new voice behind the bench is what the Stars truly need to get over the hump.

However, this firing is the latest example of a trend across the NHL. That trend, of course, being that coaches have a shorter leash than ever before.

Since the start of 2022, 29 of 32 NHL teams have made at least one coaching change. The only ones who haven't are the Tampa Bay Lightning, who hired Jon Cooper in 2013, Colorado Avalanche, who hired Jared Bednar in 2016, and the Carolina Hurricanes, who hired Rod Brind'Amour in 2018. Even teams that have been consistently good over the past several years - such as the Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins - axed their coaches at the first sign of trouble.

The reason(s) behind this trend is unclear. Perhaps it's due to more teams choosing their players over their coaches, as the Stars seemingly did here and as Sportsnet's Justin Bourne theorized. Perhaps it's due to a general culture shift around the league with teams being less patient than before, or maybe it's something else entirely.

No matter what the reason is, it's certainly jarring to see teams change coaches so frequently, especially a contender like the Stars.