Have you ever watched someone you used to admire make mental error after mental error? Eventually, those errors add up and lead to them being fired. Even three straight Western Conference Final appearances can't save a man when he can't make the Stanley Cup Final.
That was the case with Pete DeBoer, a former Vegas Golden Knights head coach who currently resides behind the Dallas Stars bench. He made an interesting decision in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final by pulling Jake Oettinger after two goals in the first period. What's more, Oettinger only faced two shots.
Two! That's with only 7:09 gone by!
"Hi, this is Pete DeBoer. You're wondering how I got here..."
Switching to Casey DeSmith didn't save the Stars as the Edmonton Oilers doubled up Dallas, 6-3. The result? Edmonton's second straight Stanley Cup Final appearance and DeBoer's sixth straight semifinal loss. Let's check in on those Stars fans hoping for a Texas-sized miracle.
Yep. That sounds about right.
Anyway, DeBoer followed up his blunder with an interesting choice of words in a postgame interview. How did he defend his decision to pull his superstar goaltender in a do-or-die game?
Boy, saying that your superstar goaltender is the problem is something else. It's similar to what Patrick Roy went through in Montreal before winning a couple of Stanley Cups with the Colorado Avalanche. I can only imagine how Oettinger is feeling right now.
Vegas Golden Knights fans had their suspicions confirmed true
Remember when Robin Lehner went on a profanity-laced tirade about his time in Vegas? He singlehandedly called out DeBoer for mismanaging him and essentially saying he left the Swedish goaltender out to dry.
Well, that's a similar situation here. DeBoer didn't take any accountability regarding the goalie change-up and threw his own star goaltender under the bus. But it goes beyond Lehner's tirade.
Remember when the former Golden Knights head coach started Lehner over Marc-Andre Fleury in 2020? That sparked Fleury's agent, Allan Walsh, to post a Twitter picture of Fleury being impaled by DeBoer's theoretical sword (or in layman's terms, "backstabbing").
Of course, this is nothing new since the head coach had a contentious relationship with the legendary goaltender. But DeBoer's latest gaffe proved one thing: his inability to handle goaltenders come playoff time. First came Fleury, followed by Oettinger. Hmm... I wonder why he has lost six straight semifinals?
Pete DeBoer's latest blunder has Golden Knights fans thankful for Bruce Cassidy
I know what you're thinking:
"Oh, what about Bruce Cassidy?? He's done something similar before!"
Well, dear reader, he has. The thing is, the switch was actually successful. While Thompson was solid in four games played (2.35 GAA and a save percentage of .921 in 2023-24), Hill was actually better in three games (1.70 GAA and a save percentage of .931 in 2023-24). Blame Vegas's first-round exit on a lack of offense for losing that series.
Yes, Hill was underwhelming in the last postseason run. However, Cassidy stuck with him until the end. It was until Game 5's overtime period that the Oilers finally broke through. In both instances, Hill was the shining star when called upon. It was the attack (or lack of) that ultimately fell short for the Golden Knights.
Of course, there's also Cassidy having the most wins (146) and the only Stanley Cup in franchise history. Mind you, he achieved all this before DeBoer completed his third (and final) season with the team. Stuff like that makes legends grow.
It also helps ease the pain of an old head coach squandering talented teams. Jim Nill gave DeBoer MIKKO RANTANEN to turn the Stars into a Stanley Cup contender. Of course, it took a head coach like DeBoer to also fumble a talented team. The more things change...