Dallas Stars: Top Five Candidates To Fill Head Coach Vacancy

2 of 6

BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 08: Boston University Terriers men’s hockey coach David Quinn coaches his team before they faced the University of Massachusetts Minuteman at Fenway Park on January 8, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Michael Ivins/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) /

David Quinn is regarded by many to be the NCAA’s best men’s hockey coach. At the very least, he’s in the conversation. If you haven’t heard of Quinn, it’s likely because his experience in pro hockey is limited: three years as the head coach of the American Hockey League’s Lake Erie [Cleveland] Monsters, and just one in the NHL as an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche.

However, his resume at the college level speaks for itself. As the head coach of the Boston University program, Quinn has twice won the Hockey East regular season crown and the conference’s tournament. In five years at the helm for the Terriers, Quinn has led the club to four NCAA tournament berths, including a Frozen Four appearance in 2014-15.

In the same 2014-15 campaign, Quinn won the Bob Cullen Coach of the Year honors for his 28-9-5 (14-5-3 in Hockey East) efforts. Quinn’s BU team plays a high-intensity, hard-working, quick style that could work effectively in an evolving NHL.

Quinn has handled some extremely talented individuals, and his experience in that regard could help the likes of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. Having coached NHL stars Jack Eichel, Clayton Keller, and Charlie McAvoy as well as up-and-coming NHLers Jordan Greenway, Kieffer Bellows, and Dante Fabbro, Quinn knows how to make space for superstars to produce with offensive creativity.

If you’re looking for a nostalgia factor, Quinn was selected 13th overall by the Minnesota North Stars (now Dallas) in 1984. He is, in a sense, ours already,

Home/Analysis