It’s been an offseason of move making and shaking things up for the Dallas Stars. It started with the firing of General Manager Joe Niewendyk and hiring of new GM, former Detroit Red Wings Assistant GM Jim Nill. Since then, Nill has been making things happen, shaking up the front office, firing head coach Glen Gulutzan, and signing 39-year-old defenseman Sergei Gonchar to a two year deal after acquiring him from Ottawa over the weekend.
His biggest move of the offseason is yet to come though, as Nill is still on the hunt for the next Stars head coach. One very intriguing name that has been coming up in the past few days is John Tortorella, former head coach of the New York Rangers, and previously of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tortorella won the 2004 Stanley Cup while coaching the Lightning.
Tortorella was fired by the Rangers after an underachieving year that saw New York settle for sixth place in the Eastern Conference and a second round elimination from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The head coach is known for being exceptionally aggressive and fiery towards his players and especially towards the media. He holds nothing back, and is highly critical of his teams when he feels they aren’t performing like they should. This is exactly the type of coach the Dallas Stars need to bring in to turn this franchise around.
Think back to the last time the Stars legitimately had a hard nosed coach. With Ken Hitchcock at the helm the Stars made it to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, winning the Cup in 1999.
Tortorella could bring that fire and motivation back to the bench, where a very young team could use a little tough love.
So you can get a better idea of what I’m talking about, here are the Top 10 moments of Tortorella popping off.
If Jim Nill is serious about bringing winning hockey back to Dallas, he needs to go out and get John Tortorella.
Go Stars.
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