DALLAS — The Dallas Stars have agreed to hire Glen Gulutzan as their next coach.
A person with knowledge of the talks tells The Associated Press that the deal is pending contract details being worked out. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the club had not announced the hiring.
Gulutzan has coached the club’s top minor-league affiliate the last two seasons, reaching the finals in 2010 and the playoffs again this past season.
The 39-year-old Gulutzan replaces Marc Crawford, who was fired after Dallas missed making the playoffs by losing its last game of the regular season. They had 95 points, the most by a team that missed the playoffs, and have a foundation of young players to build around — several of them coached by Gulutzan in the minors.
Crawford, who won a Stanley Cup with Colorado, was the first coach hire by general manager Joe Nieuwendyk. For his second hiring, Nieuwendyk is going for a 39-year-old with no NHL coaching experience.
Before joining the Texas Stars, Gulutzan was coach and general manager of the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL from 2003-09. His teams won consecutive division titles, reaching the league finals in 2008 and the conference finals in 2009.
The Stars also interviewed Ken Hitchcock, the coach of their 1999 Stanley Cup champion club; Montreal assistant Kirk Muller, who was on the 2000 Dallas team that went to the Cup finals; and Nashville assistant coach Peter Horachek.
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