3 Candidates Emerge as Frontrunners to Replace Peter DeBoer as Dallas Stars Head Coach

Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill announced that the team would be hiring a new head coach after he dismissed now-former head coach Peter DeBoer after the Stars were eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers from the WCF.

DeBoer reportedly drew the ire of Stars players after he pulled goaltender Jake Oettinger from the decisive Game 5 against the Oilers after he allowed a pair of goals on Edmonton's first 2 shots of the game; it was also the Stars' 3rd straight loss in the WCF.

As the team conducts the search for their next coach, Dallas could consider going with an internal hire instead of some of the more notable names that are still out there.

Nill indicated that an internal hire was possible during his news conference explaining the termination of DeBoer.

One of the internal candidates is Neil Graham, who is the coach of the AHL affiliate Texas Stars, someone Nill specifically referred to.

A pair of other internal candidates include assistant Alain Nasreddine, who at one point was the interim head coach of the New Jersey Devils before being hired by DeBoer to join the Stars' staff in 2022.

Another internal candidate is fellow assistant coach Misha Donskov, who was reportedly in the running to fill the Boston Bruins' head coaching vacancy. He previously worked with the Vegas Golden Knights as director of hockey operations and analytics before joining DeBoer's staff with the club, and then followed him to Dallas.