Why did the Golden Knights fire Peter DeBoer? Stars head coach faces former team in Western Conference Final

Just over a year ago, the Golden Knights announced that the club had fired head coach Peter DeBoer after two and a half seasons with Vegas. 

Flash forward to now, and there is a familiar face on the opposing bench as the Golden Knights gear up for the 2023 Western Conference Final. 

The Stars and Golden Knights are playing against one another in the 2023 conference finals. One of the top storylines in the matchup involves DeBoer, who is currently the head coach of the Stars, as he gets a crack at eliminating his former employer. 

This series is a rematch of the 2020 Western Conference Final that saw Dallas come out on top in five games. DeBoer was at the helm of that Vegas team in 2020. It was his first season behind the Golden Knights' bench, hired midseason to replace Gerard Gallant after DeBoer was let go by the Sharks.

The longtime NHL head coach twice brought the Golden Knights to the third stage of the NHL playoffs, one series away from a Stanley Cup Final berth. But after missing the postseason last year, DeBoer was fired by the Golden Knights, opening the door for him to take the open gig in Dallas that was left vacant after Rick Bowness elected to step down. 

The 54-year-old bench boss has never lifted the Stanley Cup in his coaching career. Will he get the chance in 2023, or will his former club knock him out of the postseason?

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The Sporting News looks back on DeBoer's time with Vegas and why he was ultimately fired by the Golden Knights. 

Why did the Golden Knights fire Peter DeBoer?

There's no denying that the 2021-22 season did not go as expected for the Golden Knights.

Vegas entered the season as favorites to come out of the Western Conference and to win the Stanley Cup. By the time the regular season ended, the Golden Knights had failed to make the postseason for the first time in franchise history. 

Injuries played a major part in the team's lack of success. Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, Reilly Smith, Jack Eichel and Alec Martinez missed extensive time on the injured reserve, all seemingly at different points in the season. 

DeBoer was dealing with a depleted roster for the majority of the season while balancing the high expectations for the group. When the team was unable to pull together and make the postseason, someone needed to be the scapegoat. 

The Vegas front office seemingly elected DeBoer to be the whipping boy. 

General manager Kelly McCrimmon said during a news conference that the reasoning for firing DeBoer was about looking towards the next season, not reflecting on the past. 

"The decision was made based on next year, the decision was not based on last year," McCrimmon said at the time of DeBoer's firing. "I'm not going to be critical of Pete or point out specifics as to why this decision was made. I've got a lot of respect for Pete as a man, I've got a lot of respect for him as a coach. These decisions are made for the future.''

Considering the tumultuous season, it does make sense that the Golden Knights wanted a completely clean slate for this year, which meant a new head coach. However, the head coach was only able to do so much with the personnel he had at his disposal.

Now, DeBoer most definitely had his faults. The end of that season involved a strange feud involving Robin Lehner. DeBoer called out the goaltender multiple times in his press conference as the Golden Knights were battling to make the playoffs. He also made a questionable call to pull Lehner after allowing just one goal in a late April game, then denied reports that Lehner was undergoing season-ending surgery, which eventually happened. 

Whether the Golden Knights simply wanted a new voice in the room or just needed to make any sort of change to put the disappointing season behind them, the Stars benefitted from DeBoer's dismissal.

In fact, it's worked out pretty well for both sides. DeBoer immediately got a new head coaching gig with the Stars, leading the franchise to its best regular season since 2015-16. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights hired Bruce Cassidy after he was fired from the Bruins, and he has helped Vegas get back to being a contender. 

Peter DeBoer coaching record

DeBoer has been around the NHL for quite some time. He has held a head coaching role every season since getting his first gig as head coach of the Panthers in 2008. 

He has accumulated a record of 560-400-137 with a points percentage of .573, which spans over 15 seasons in the league.