Last week, we reviewed various events in Dallas Stars' history that could have happened. We discussed whether the Stars could have held on to Logan Stankoven at the trade deadline while getting Mikko Rantanen. We also wondered what would have happened if the Stars had Paul Maurice as their head coach. Joe Pavelski could have retired as a Stanley Cup Champion if Maurice were the head coach. It was a fun week discussing those. Now, we will review the best and worst in multiple statistics.
We discussed which Dallas Stars teams were the best and the worst on the power play this morning. You would be surprised to learn that Steve Spott led the Stars to one of the best power plays during the regular season. You would also be shocked to find out the Stars had one of the worst power plays when the team moved down here from Minnesota. A couple of seasons after having one of the worst power plays in the league, the Stars won the Stanley Cup.
This afternoon we will be discussing which teams had the best and the worst penalty kills. It would be shocking to say the Stars had one of the worst penalty kills during this decade. I remember covering this season because I would turn away every time the Stars would go on the penalty kill. It was one of those seasons where the Stars couldn't stop a freight train on the penalty kill. Here is the worst Dallas Stars penalty kill squad in franchise history.
Don't be shocked when I tell you that the worst penalty kill in Stars history was during the Rick Bowness era. During the 2021-22 season, the Stars had one of the worst penalty kills in franchise history. The Stars stood still on the power play as teams went around them and scored. It would ultimately lead to Bowness stepping down at the end of the season. The Stars would then hire Pete DeBoer as the next head coach of the organization.
This past season, the Stars had one of the best penalty kills in the NHL. Once DeBoer got his hands on the team, they learned how to block shots and get the puck out of the zone away from their goaltender. See what happens when a different coach comes in and changes the philosophy? Glen Gulutzan will look to continue that this upcoming season as he takes over as the new coach of the Dallas Stars. Hopefully, the Stars won't have a penalty kill that bad ever again.