Friday, December 28, 2007

Dallas Stars extend head coach Dave Tippett’s contract into 2008-09

By Pegasus News wire

FRISCO — The Dallas Stars announced today that the club has extended the contract for head coach Dave Tippett through the 2008-09 season. Tippett’s contract was set to expire on June 30, 2008.

In addition, the Stars announced that Associate Coach Rick Wilson and Assistant Coach Mark Lamb have also signed extensions through the 2008-09 season. Each of the current contracts of the Stars’ associate/assistant coach were due to expire on June 30, 2008. Current Assistant Coach Ulf Dahlen was offered a contract extension, but has decided to wait until the summer to assess next season.

Way to go, Tip

Tippett, 46, is in his fifth season with the hockey club and boasts an overall record of 212-109-45 during his tenure as head coach of the Dallas Stars – the best record among active NHL coaches. On Nov. 21, 2007 vs. Anaheim, Tippett became the third-fastest to reach 200 wins among all-time NHL coaches in just his 349th game coached.

“We’re very pleased to extend Dave’s contract for another season,” said Co-General Manager Les Jackson. “Dave has done an outstanding job since the day he started here in Dallas and we expect that to continue. We are also happy to announce the extensions of the contracts to Rick and Mark. All the coaches have worked extremely hard together and their continuity bodes well for our hockey club.”

Tippett’s teams have been near the top of the NHL standings since he took over as head coach, boasting the third-best record in the league since ’02-03 and the second-best home record. He has also guided the Stars to two, 50-win seasons during his tenure (23 teams have not had one 50-win campaign since ’02-03). Tippett's playoff record, however, is another thing, with his teams regularly underperforming in the postseason. After the Stars' most recent playoff collapse, many fans called for Tippett to get fired.

Wilson, 57, is currently in his fifth season as associate coach and his 15th with the Stars organization, with his coaching emphasis on the club’s defensemen. During his tenure in Dallas, he has been part of seven division championships, two Western Conference crowns, two Presidents’ Trophies and the 1999 Stanley Cup. Wilson has over 20 years experience as a coach in the NHL. Drafted by Montreal in the 1970 amateur draft, he spent four seasons (1973-77) in the NHL as a defenseman for Montreal, St. Louis and Detroit.

Lamb, 43, is in his fifth season as an assistant coach for Dallas, with his coaching emphasis on the Stars’ forwards and offense. He has also served as an assistant coach for Edmonton and played in 403 career NHL games with six different teams. A key member of the Oilers’ 1990 Stanley Cup Championship team, Lamb registered 17 points (6-11-17) in 22 post-season outings to finish sixth in scoring for Edmonton.

Source: Dallas Stars

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Comments

kirk Anonymous

Too bad so few of those Tippett-led wins have been in post-season play.

1 year, 10 months ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )