Stars trade Dave Tippett to Coaching Oblivion for Marc Crawford

Stars fans were non-plussed by the announcement

(Writer’s note: I’d have written about this sooner had Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk not chosen that day my baby daughter was born to announce the abrupt coaching changes Wednesday and Thursday. Perhaps it’s the sleep deprivation talking, but this article will probably be a lot less harsh than it would’ve been had the Stars fired Tippett a day earlier. Go figure.)

The Dallas Stars’ shiny new GM Joe Nieuwendyk made his first executive decision last week, firing head coach Dave Tippett and replacing him almost immediately with former Avs, Canucks and Kings coach Marc Crawford. Was this a good fire/hire for the Stars? And what can Stars fans expect from the new regime?

Should Tippett even have been fired? While a majority of Stars fans thought so before the team’s deep playoff run two seasons ago, his handling of that team’s success and last year’s team’s failures had built up a great deal of goodwill among fans, although there were still critics. Two seasons ago, Tippett momentarily rid himself of his personal playoff demons, leading his Dallas team to two “upsets” over the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks, only to abandon the successful, aggressive play against the Detroit Red Wings until it was too late. And last season, Tippett was dealt a losing hand with season-long injuries to captain Brenden Morrow and #1 d-man Sergei Zubov, as well as abysmal performances by Marty Turco and an early-season locker room cancer in Sean Avery. Many fans applauded Tippett for fielding a team composed primarily of first and second year players and still remaining somewhat competitive.

On the other hand, Tippett’s overly-conservative gameplans and “player’s coach” mentality did not seem to play into this team’s strengths, which include aggressive playmaking forwards and a solid young defensive core. Specifically, the Stars’ timid play in games 1-3 and 4 against Detroit in the ‘08 Conference Finals –and the 2008-09 Stars’ seeming inability to get their game going until well into the second period, oftentimes surrendering the first goal of the game before the opening faceoff rosters were announced– were his biggest faults as a coach. And despite his tremendous regular season success, that just wasn’t going to get it done for a financially-strapped Tom Hicks next year.
Tippett will inevitably end up as a head coach someplace else in the league, with Calgary, New Jersey and Minnesota all potential suitors. Not coincidentally, two of those three teams also like to ride their starting goaltenders into the ground, a frequent complaint against Tippett last season.

Hiring recycled has-beens to save the organization? Sounds a lot like... uh-oh

But what about the man who replaced him, former Stanley Cup winner Marc Crawford? Thus far, even Stars fans who called for Tippett’s ouster are unhappy with the decision. Marc Crawford?? The Bertuzzi/Moore guy that flamed out with the Kings? And at first glance, the move is suspiciously at best: Crawford’s Stanley Cup came way back in 1996, before Al Gore invented the internet. Crawford’s recent playoff success is roughly the same as Tippett’s, with one series win in his last six tries, and a bunch of first-round flameouts. And Crawford is recycled goods, which is never, ever the sexy pick when it comes to coaching: who really wants LA’s unwanted leftovers?

Joe Nieuwendyk did, apparently. And looking at his position and his history, you can see why: Nieuwy won the Cup in 1999 with a hard-ass, attention-to-details type coach in Ken Hitchcock –not a player’s coach like Tippett. This Stars team is also two or three retirements away from being one of the youngest in the league, and Crawford’s success as a taskmaster in Vancouver with Bertuzzi and the Sedins speaks volumes (although his alleged inability to coach Kopitar, Brown, and Johnson is still a little disturbing).

Most importantly, this Stars team is geared for offense, scoring goals and selling tickets. This team is –or will be– about youth, speed, aggression and charging the net. Apparently Tom Hicks and Nieuwendyk think Crawford is that coach that will take this team to the next level offensively — as long as you try and forget that that was exactly why Tippett was hired so many years ago.

At the very least, this means a completely different Stars team than last year. Will Crawford keep longtime Gainey/Hitchcock/Tippett stalwarts like Assistant Coach Ron Wilson? Is Turco on his way out? And what will Modano do after Crawford rips into him for yet another lethargic pokecheck that results in a soft goal? Only time will answer these questions, and many, many more: but the first returns are not overly optimistic.