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Stars Release Statement After Shocking Firing of Peter DeBoer

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt Levine | Last updated Jun 6, 2025 11:57 AM ET

The Dallas Stars have fired head coach Peter DeBoer after losing in the Western Conference Final. This move comes after a disappointing ending to the season for Dallas and some major backlash from the players.

Stars general manager Jim Nill released a statement on the firing of the veteran coach.

“After careful consideration, we believe that a new voice is needed in our locker room to push us closer to our goal of winning the Stanley Cup,” Nill said. “We’d like to thank Pete for everything that he has helped our organization achieve over the past three seasons and wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”

DeBoer posted a record of 149-68-29 over 246 regular-season games with the Stars. The veteran coach went 29-27 in the postseason, including helping Dallas make three straight Western Conference Final appearances.

But the team couldn't get over the hump to win the Stanley Cup. The team never made the Stanley Cup Final under the leadership of DeBoer.

A lot of this firing likely had to do with how DeBoer handled star goalie Jake Oettinger in the final game of the conference final this year. Oettinger was pulled from the game early after allowing multiple goals, and DeBoer then threw him under the bus.

"The reality is, if you go back to last year's playoffs, he's lost six of seven games to Edmonton and we gave up two (goals) on two (shots) in an elimination game," DeBoer said of Oettinger. "It was partly to spark our team and wake them up and partly knowing that status quo had not been working. And that's a pretty big sample size."

Many people in the organization didn't like this from DeBoer, and he now has suffered the consequences of his actions. Dallas will now look for a new leader to help this team go forward.

The Stars have a lot of talent on the roster, but they need to figure out how to maximize this group going forward.

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

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