Denver Native (Carol)
04-12-2011, 09:26 PM
DALLAS -- This season, Marc Crawford guided the Dallas Stars to the most points of any team in NHL history that didn't make the playoffs.
It wasn't enough to keep his job, either.
Crawford was fired Tuesday after just two seasons in charge. Although Dallas' playoff bid went to the final minutes of the regular season, general manager Joe Nieuwendyk seemed to have already decided his club needed another coach to become a contender for the Stanley Cup.
"We have a lot of good things in place," Nieuwendyk said. "The hardest thing for Marc to probably accept [is] that I don't feel he's the guy going forward that takes us to the next level."
Nieuwendyk persuaded his bosses to dump Crawford with a year left on his contract. The significance is that the team is run by creditors who are trying to sell the club. By agreeing to this, they approved paying for a new coach, as well as picking up the remaining tab for Crawford unless he gets hired elsewhere.
http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nhl/news/story?id=6338807
It wasn't enough to keep his job, either.
Crawford was fired Tuesday after just two seasons in charge. Although Dallas' playoff bid went to the final minutes of the regular season, general manager Joe Nieuwendyk seemed to have already decided his club needed another coach to become a contender for the Stanley Cup.
"We have a lot of good things in place," Nieuwendyk said. "The hardest thing for Marc to probably accept [is] that I don't feel he's the guy going forward that takes us to the next level."
Nieuwendyk persuaded his bosses to dump Crawford with a year left on his contract. The significance is that the team is run by creditors who are trying to sell the club. By agreeing to this, they approved paying for a new coach, as well as picking up the remaining tab for Crawford unless he gets hired elsewhere.
http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nhl/news/story?id=6338807