Dallas, TX
Who is Pete DeBoer? 10 things to know about the Dallas Stars head coach
With Pete DeBoer in charge, the Dallas Stars have positioned themselves as one of the NHL’s top teams.
DeBoer originally took over as Dallas’ head coach in 2022 and has since led the squad to three consecutive Western Conference finals appearances. Will this be the year DeBoer and the Stars get past the hump?
Here are 10 things to know about DeBoer:
1. The basics
DeBoer, 56, is a native of Dunnville, Ontario in Canada. He has 18 years of head coaching experience in the NHL, previously leading teams like the Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights.
Before landing in the NHL, DeBoer coached several teams in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He notably led the Detroit Whalers, Plymouth Whalers and Kitchener Rangers.
DeBoer and his wife, Susan, have one daughter and two sons.
2. His playing career
Before he took on the coaching challenge, DeBoer gained first-hand experience on the ice.
DeBoer, a center, spent much of his playing career in the OHL. He spent four seasons (1985-89) with the Windsor Compuware Spitfires before he was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs with the 237th overall pick in the 1988 NHL draft.
DeBoer did not play in the NHL, moving on to the International Hockey League (IHL) after his stint in Windsor. He spent the last three years of his playing career with the Milwaukee Admirals.
According to hockeydb.com, DeBoer recorded 309 points throughout his playing career (regular season and postseason combined). His best season came in 1988-89, when he posted 91 points (45 goals and 46 assists) with Windsor.
3. Pete DeBoer, the lawyer?
That’s right. For a brief moment, DeBoer was preparing to start a career outside of hockey. During his early days as an assistant coach in the OHL, DeBoer was in law school.
Some of the connections DeBoer made in his playing days had a key role in how the rest of his professional career unfolded. Back when he was hired by the Stars in 2022, DeBoer spoke about where he would be if he wasn’t coaching.
“I might be in a small claims court somewhere,” said DeBoer, who has a law degree in both Canada and the United States. “Fighting a traffic ticket.”
4. Master of Game 7s
When it comes to win-or-go-home scenarios, DeBoer has found consistent success. When the Stars took down the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the 2025 playoffs, DeBoer took sole possession of the best Game 7 record in pro sports.
At 9-0, with Game 7 wins with Dallas (three), the San Jose Sharks (three), the Vegas Golden Knights (two) and the New Jersey Devils (one), DeBoer broke a tie with two-time Stanley Cup champion Darryl Sutter (8-3) to stand alone in first place.
5. Has international coaching experience
Along with his NHL coaching, DeBoer has picked up experience working for Team Canada throughout his career. He was notably an assistant on the coaching staff for Team Canada during the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
DeBoer previously won gold with the Canadian national team during the 2015 IIHF World Championship.
6. Has a preferred pizza place in Denver
When the Stars face the Colorado Avalanche in the 2025 playoffs, DeBoer’s routine for games in Denver became a hot topic of discussion. The head coach said he likes to walk from the team hotel to Ball Arena, stopping at a specific pizza place to grab a bite to eat.
DeBoer’s preferred location was SliceWorks, which serves a Big Mac pizza and a jalapeño popper pizza with grape jelly.
Stars beat writer Lia Assimakopoulos reviewed DeBoer’s selections during the Stars-Avalanche series.
7. Known for a strong defensive system
Throughout his Dallas stint, DeBoer has emphasized the virtue of a strong defensive system. In each of his three seasons as Stars head coach, DeBoer’s Dallas teams have finished in the top 10 in regular-season goals allowed.
In 2022-23, the Stars ranked third with 215 goals allowed. Dallas then ranked eighth with 232 goals allowed in 2023-24. That all led up to the 2024-25 season, where Dallas ranked sixth with 222 goals allowed.
8. Once had a tense exchange with a media member in Dallas
DeBoer wasn’t exactly thrilled with the Stars’ performance against the Edmonton Oilers in the 2024 Western Conference finals. The head coach’s frustrations boiled over when The Dallas Morning News’ Tim Cowlishaw asked about a slow second-period showing in a Game 5 loss.
“You can sit here and question our character if you want. That’s what you’re doing. You haven’t been around here all year, I haven’t seen you all year,” DeBoer said.
DeBoer asked for a redo the following day.
9. Has coached in Stanley Cup Finals before
If DeBoer can lead the Stars past the Western Conference finals, it would mark the coach’s third appearance in the Stanley Cup Final.
He led the New Jersey Devils to the Cup Final in 2012, then returned to the matchup with the San Jose Sharks in 2016. DeBoer’s Devils lost to the Los Angeles Kings in six games, while the Sharks fell against the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.
10. Brings up young players
Throughout his coaching career, DeBoer has emphasized the development of young players. In San Jose, he helped oversee the growth of winger Timo Meier.
DeBoer is also credited with helping Tomas Hertl become a key contributor. The head coach’s impact is already felt in Dallas, as he has quickly boosted Wyatt Johnston into becoming one of the team’s most dangerous scorers.
Johnston finished the 2024-25 regular season with 71 points (33 goals, 38 assists).
Find more Stars coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Dallas police officers and firefighters are being praised after rescuing a homeless woman who was trapped in a ravine for days. First responders said the rescue pushed them to their limits, but they never gave up.
Paramedics and police officers responded to a call late last month in searing afternoon heat after a man working out near Conrad High School reported hearing faint cries for help.
“When we got the initial call with DPD, we were seeing notes that said that there was someone deep back beside the ravine,” Dallas Fire-Rescue paramedic Robert Kober recalled.
A recent storm had turned the terrain in the area into a thick, sticky mud. “You stepped in it, you sank past your ankles, sometimes halfway or more up to your knees. Nasty, nasty conditions,” Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. Mark Gnewuch said.
They hiked nearly a quarter mile through the muck, thick brush and even sewage to find the woman. A one point they even needed to fashion a makeshift bridge, Kober said.
“By the time I got out there, I’d already slipped and fell once and my thought process was ‘wow, she has been out here for a while,’” Gnewuch said.
“I was expecting to see someone who was barely coherent, possibly deceased, but when we arrived on location and I saw her, she was actually carrying on a conversation,” Kober said.
The woman was taken to a hospital suffering from severe dehydration, prolonged sun exposure and other injuries, but was in stable condition.
“I have been on similar situations where individuals who are in that type of environment for that long, they don’t survive, so it was definitely a miracle to make it through,” Kober said.
The rescue was proof of what can be accomplished when first responders work together.
FC Dallas announced today that forward Logan Farrington signed a contract extension through the 2027-28 season, with club options for the 2028-29 and 2029-30 seasons.
Farrington was previously under contract through the 2027 season. This new deal updates his contract options through the 2029-30 season.
Farrington has appeared in 14 matches this season, scoring a career-high six goals and recording a team-leading four assists. He was named to the MLS Team of the Matchweek Starting XI for Week 5 after scoring a brace and one assist in the Texas Derby against Houston on March 21.
For the first time in his professional career, Farrington scored in back-to-back matches from March 21 to April 4, finding the net in the Texas Derby victory and the road win at D.C. United.
The Racine, Wisconsin, native was drafted No. 3 overall in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft and signed a new contract on Jan. 22, 2025. Farrington has recorded 15 goals and 16 assists in 75 appearances since joining Dallas, the most by any 2024 MLS SuperDraftee across the league. He won the MLS NEXT Pro Cup with North Texas SC on Nov. 9, 2024, scoring a goal in the final. He also became one of six players in MLS history to record multiple games with both a goal and an assist off the bench in a single season in 2024.
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Quick BDS Take
There is no doubt in my mind that we’re going to see more of these types of announcements over the next few weeks as the club begins to reposition itself for the upcoming calendar change in MLS. There are still a lot of players on deals that run through 2027, so addressing what part of 2027 has to be done here.
Either way, I am all for adding more years to Farrington’s contract. He’s been one of the more underrated strikers in MLS and his partnership with Petar Musa has really been fun to watch over the last three seasons.
His numbers alone this year show that he’s been improving year over year with the club, too.
The Stewpot, a Dallas-based homeless services organization, is helping people who have experienced homelessness be seen in a new light.
During a special art exhibit Thursday night, paintings filled the walls, but it was artists like Darrell Plunkett who were the real focus.
When Plunkett first discovered The Stewpot’s art program more than a decade ago, he was at one of the lowest points in his life. He was struggling with alcoholism.
“I was staying in a shelter and I was waiting for them to take us back downtown, and I saw a gentleman with sketches and a bag full of art supplies,” he said.
Immediately, he wanted to learn more.
“He told me about the program, and back then, there was an interview process to get in, and so I went through that,” he said.
Plunkett was accepted and quickly discovered a love for painting, especially sunflowers and roosters. More importantly, he found an escape from the struggles he was facing.
“It kept me out of trouble and give me a safe place to come and create instead of running the streets,” he said.
He said many artists in the program have found that same sense of purpose.
“It gives me peace and quiet and comfort,” Luis Arispe said. “People who buy my work love the way I talk to them and speak to them.”
Every painting sold directly benefits the artists. They receive 90% of each sale, while the remaining 10% goes back into the program to help pay for art supplies.”
“It’s a nice little boost if you get a little more pocket change.. to get paid for your work and to be acknowledged as an artist,” The Stewpot Director of Enrichment Programs, Betty Heckman, said.
“The recognition that someone actually likes what I created it just gives me joy,” Plunkett said.
Since joining the program, Plunkett has remained sober. He now has his own apartment and works at the Dallas Arboretum, where he finds constant inspiration.
“I’ll just stop and take a quick snapshot and go home and create,” he said.
He estimates he’s created hundreds of paintings over the years, and some of his work has even been featured in murals across Dallas.
Looking back, he says he’s forever grateful for this program that changed the course of his life.
“I don’t know what I would do without it,” he said. “It’s been a blessing.”
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