The Dallas Stars have a new head coach with a long-term contract, after signing Pete DeBoer to a four-year deal this week. That raised some questions about the contracts of the rest of the leadership group, including general manager Jim Nill who has just one year left on his deal.
Today, at DeBoer’s introductory press conference, the new coach explained to reporters including Saad Yousuf of The Athletic that he was assured Nill would be there throughout his time in Dallas. Nill himself explained that he has worked on a succession plan with owner Tom Gaglardi but that he will be general manager for a few more years.
- Another coach press conference, this time for Jay Woodcroft and the Edmonton Oilers, led to more answers from a general manager. Ken Holland told reporters including Mark Spector of Sportsnet that he has had multiple chats with Evander Kane’s agent and once again expressed his desire to re-sign the pending free agent winger.
- Minor league forward Adam Helewka is off to Europe once again, signing with HC Innsbruck in the ICEHL. The 26-year-old was originally selected 106th overall by the San Jose Sharks in 2015 but never did make it to the NHL. After spending some time in the KHL, SHL and Slovakian league, he played the last two seasons with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL.