Stars Players 'Not Pleased' with Coach's Behavior Toward Starting Goalie

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Jun 3, 2025 6:28 AM ET

Frustration has surfaced inside the Dallas Stars locker room following their elimination from the Western Conference final.

According to a report by David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, multiple Stars players expressed concern during exit interviews over how head coach Peter DeBoer handled key moments in the series against the Edmonton Oilers.

Most of those concerns seem to be linked to DeBoer's benching of starting goaltender Jake Oettinger in the final Game 5 loss.

DeBoer defended the call during his postgame media availability, insisting the move was strategic rather than punitive.

"Anytime you pull a goalie, the reasoning is always to try and spark your group," DeBoer said. "Obviously, we were in a 2-0 hole right away, and I didn’t take that lightly and I didn't blame it all on Jake, but the reality is... he’s lost six of seven games to Edmonton."

Noise out of Dallas re: Pete DeBoer. Per multiple sources, players are not pleased with how he handled several situations during the WCF, along with post Gm5 & exit media remarks. Told players voiced concerns during internal exit interviews. DeBoer has 1yr left on his contract.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) June 2, 2025

Pagnotta said players were "not pleased" with DeBoer’s decision to pull Oettinger just over seven minutes into Game 5 after allowing two goals on the first two shots he faced.

"Noise out of Dallas re: Pete DeBoer," Pagnotta wrote on X. "Per multiple sources, players are not pleased with how he handled several situations during the WCF, along with post Gm5 & exit media remarks.

"Told players voiced concerns during internal exit interviews. DeBoer has 1yr left on his contract."

Oettinger admitted he was caught off guard by the decision.

"I wasn’t expecting that to happen. It was surprising," Oettinger said during the end-of-season media availability. "But the reality is, if I make one or two of those saves, I’d still (be playing) in the game.

"I was on the screen (while sitting on the bench) a lot more than I thought I should be. I don't know why they kept showing me. I haven't moved in half an hour. It sucks. It's embarrassing."

As Pagnotta noted in his post, DeBoer has one year remaining on his contract with the Stars after losing three consecutive Western Conference finals in the last three seasons.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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