Yesterday the Dallas Stars fired head coach Marc Crawford. Initially, there was a feeling that Nieuwendyk likely already had Crawford's replacement in mind -- especially since Nieuwendyk never takes action without a plan in place. During yesterday's news conference, however, NIeuwendyk stated that the Stars will take their time in finding a new coach. He made it clear that he feels rushing into a decision on a new coach can be dangerous and the Stars will look closely at every good candidate.

So who are the coaching candidates? Nieuwendyk gave little hints as to the direction he's looking or the style of coach he'll go after, saying only that "we need to become a well rounded team and make the best use of all of our people." Considering the Stars' lack of grit, firepower and consistent defense it's likely that he won't be going after another one-dimensional coach like Crawford.

Currently there are five coaching vacancies in the NHL: Dallas, Florida, Minnesota, Ottawa & New Jersey. The same names keep popping up as candidates for each team, but the Stars have a few that are relative just to them. Who is your choice? We'll be looking at each of the top candidates in detail over the next few days, but this is your time to tell us: Who do you want to be the next coach of the Dallas Stars?