During the Thursday morning news conference at American Airlines Center to introduce Ken Hitchcock as the Dallas’ Stars new head coach, four players listened intently from the front row.
They were captain Jamie Benn, defenseman Dan Hamhuis, forward Tyler Seguin, Dallas’ lone 2017 NHL All-Star and center Jason Spezza.
After the Stars dropped from a Western-Conference leading 109 points last season to just 79 this season, an outcome which led Dallas to not offer now-former head coach Lindy Ruff a new contract, the Stars players see this hire as a welcomed change.
Benn, the Stars’ longest-tenured player, with the team since the start of the 2009-10 season, feels Hitchcock, who previously coached Dallas from 1996-2002 and led the Stars to the 1999 Stanley Cup, has instant credibility because he knows what it takes to reach the top of the sport.