List of Minnesota North Stars head coaches

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The Minnesota North Stars were an American professional ice hockey team based in Bloomington, Minnesota, a city in the U.S. metropolitan statistical area of Minneapolis–Saint Paul.[1] The team joined the NHL in 1967 as an expansion team with five other teams;[2] the Cleveland Barons, another 1967 NHL expansion team, were merged with the North Stars in the 1978–79 season.[3] The North Stars played in the Stanley Cup Finals twice: as the Prince of Wales Conference champions in the 1980–81 season,[4] and in the 1990–91 season after winning the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl,[5] but lost in both Finals.[6] The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center.[7] The team relocated to Dallas, Texas in 1993, after former owner Norman Green announced that he was moving the team to Dallas's Reunion Arena in search of a better economic situation,[8] and are now known as the Dallas Stars.[9] The North Stars played in the Norris Division of the Clarence Campbell Conference in the National Hockey League (NHL) in their last season.[10] There were 16 head coaches for the North Stars team.[11]

The North Stars' first head coach and general manager was Wren Blair, who coached for the first three seasons, and was the North Stars' general manager until 1974; Jack Gordon, Lou Nanne, and Bob Gainey were also the general manager of the North Stars during their tenures as head coach.[12] Nine of the first twelve North Stars head coaches lasted less than two complete seasons, while ten of the first twelve head coaches have spent their entire NHL head coaching careers with the North Stars. Gordon was the first North Stars head coach to have coached more than two complete seasons, with four.[11]

Several head coaches have had multiple tenures with the North Stars. Glen Sonmor served three terms as North Stars head coach. He is the North Stars' all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached, regular-season game wins, regular-season points, playoff games coached, and playoff-game wins. Sonmor's first term lasted five seasons, the longest duration for one North Stars head coach term; his last term lasted two games, which was the shortest tenure.[11] Blair, Gordon and Charlie Burns each served two terms as the North Stars' head coach.[12] None of their second terms were winning seasons.[11]

Burns, Ted Harris, Parker MacDonald, Nanne, and Murray Oliver had once played for the North Stars;[13] Burns is the only person to have been a player-coach for the North Stars, having done so in the 1969–70 season.[14] 1980 U.S. Olympic "Miracle on Ice" coach Herb Brooks, who coached the North Stars in the 1987–88 season, is the only North Stars head coach to have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder;[15] Harry Howell and Gainey were inducted as players.[16][17] Sonmor and Gainey are the only head coaches to reach the Stanley Cup Finals with the North Stars, in the 1981 and 1991 Finals respectively.[6] Gainey was the last head coach of the North Stars; he coached the franchise until the 1995–96 season.[11]

Key[edit]

Head coaches[edit]

# Name Term[b]  GC  W  L T PTS Win% PGC PW PL PWin% Achievements Reference
1 Wren Blair* 19671968 84 30 38 16 76 .452 14 7 7 .500 [18]
2 John Muckler 1968–1969 35 6 23 6 18 .257 [19]
Wren Blair* 19691969 63 18 27 18 54 .429 [18]
3 Charlie Burns* 1969–1970 44 10 22 12 32 .364 6 2 4 .333 [20]
4 Jack Gordon* 19701973 251 105 101 45 255 .508 25 11 14 .440 [21]
5 Parker MacDonald 1973–1974 61 20 30 11 51 .418 [22]
Jack Gordon* 1974–1975 38 11 22 5 27 .355 [21]
Charlie Burns* 1975 42 12 28 2 26 .310 [20]
6 Ted Harris* 19751977 179 48 104 27 123 .344 2 0 2 .000 [23]
7 Andre Beaulieu* 1977–1978 32 6 23 3 15 .234 [24]
8 Lou Nanne* 1978 29 7 18 4 18 .310 [25]
9 Harry Howell* 1978 11 3 6 2 8 .364 [26]
10 Glen Sonmor* 19781983 352 155 125 72 382 .543 38 21 17 .553 1980–81 Prince of Wales Conference champions[6] [27]
11 Murray Oliver* 1983 37 18 12 7 43 .581 9 4 5 .444 [28]
12 Bill Mahoney* 19831984 93 42 39 12 96 .516 16 7 9 .438 [29]
Glen Sonmor* 1984–1985 67 22 35 10 54 .403 9 5 4 .556 [27]
13 Lorne Henning 19851987 158 68 72 18 154 .487 5 2 3 .400 [30]
Glen Sonmor* 1987 2 0 1 1 1 .250 [27]
14 Herb Brooks 1987–1988 80 19 48 13 51 .319 [31]
15 Pierre Page 19881990 160 63 77 20 146 .456 12 4 8 .333 [32]
16 Bob Gainey 19901993 244 95 119 30 220 .451 30 17 13 .567 1990–91 Clarence S. Campbell Bowl winner[5] [33]

Head coaches with multiple tenures[edit]

Name Term[b]  GC  W  L T PTS Win% PGC PW PL PWin% Reference
Wren Blair* 19671968; 19691969 147 48 65 34 130 .442 14 7 7 .500 [18]
Charlie Burns* 1969–1970; 1975 86 22 50 14 58 .337 6 2 4 .333 [20]
Jack Gordon* 19701973; 1974–1975 289 116 123 50 282 .488 25 11 14 .440 [21]
Glen Sonmor* 19781983; 1984–1985; 1987 421 177 161 83 437 .519 47 26 21 .553 [27]

Notes[edit]

  • a A running total of the number of coaches of the North Stars. Thus, any coach who has two or more separate terms as head coach is only counted once.
  • b Each year is linked to an article about that particular NHL season.

References[edit]

General
  • "Dallas Stars Coach Register". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  • Showers, Bob (2007). Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne. Beaver's Pond Press. ISBN 1-59298-197-6.
  • "2008-2009 Media Guide" (PDF). National Hockey League and the Dallas Stars. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
Specific
  1. ^ U.S. Census Bureau (July 1, 2006). "Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006 (CBSA-EST2006-01)". Archived from the original on September 5, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  2. ^ "Teams Index". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  3. ^ McFarlane, Brian (1990). 100 Years of Hockey. Summerhill Press. ISBN 0-929091-26-4.
  4. ^ McCarthy, Dave, ed. (2008). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2009. Dan Diamond Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  5. ^ a b "Clarence S. Campbell Bowl". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  6. ^ a b c "Stanley Cup Champions and Finalists". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on June 29, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  7. ^ Youngblood, Kent (March 7, 2008). "Rising in the North: NHL comes to Minnesota". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on June 10, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  8. ^ Montville, Leigh (April 19, 1993). "Norm Green is reviled in Minnesota for his decision to move the North Stars south". Sports Illustrated. Time Warner. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  9. ^ "Dallas Stars History". CBS Sports. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  10. ^ "Dallas Stars". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Dallas Stars Coach Register". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  12. ^ a b "2008-2009 Media Guide" (PDF). National Hockey League and the Dallas Stars. p. 264. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  13. ^ "2008-2009 Media Guide" (PDF). National Hockey League and the Dallas Stars. p. 266. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  14. ^ "Charlie Frederick Burns". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  15. ^ "Herb Brooks - Builders Category". Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  16. ^ "Players - Harry Howell". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  17. ^ "Players - Bob Gainey". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
  18. ^ a b c "Wren Blair Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  19. ^ "John Muckler Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  20. ^ a b c "Charlie Burns Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  21. ^ a b c "Jack Gordon Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  22. ^ "Parker MacDonald Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  23. ^ "Ted Harris Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  24. ^ "Andre Beaulieu Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  25. ^ "Lou Nanne Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  26. ^ "Harry Howell Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  27. ^ a b c d "Glen Sonmor Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  28. ^ "Murray Oliver Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  29. ^ "Bill Mahoney Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  30. ^ "Lorne Henning Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  31. ^ "Herb Brooks Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  32. ^ "Pierre Page Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  33. ^ "Bob Gainey Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 31, 2009.