Stargazing: Joe Nieuwendyk Unveils Partial List of Potential Coaching Candidates

There was a little news in the Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star Telegram about the Dallas Stars search for a new coach: Mainly that it's an extremely slow process that is only just getting started. No formal interviews have taken place yet.

Mike Heika spoke with GM Joe on the phone (the GM is out of town currently, evidently) and he did provide some insight into the process, naming Glen Gulutzan, Willie Desjardins, Kirk Muller, Ken Hitchcock, Guy Carbonneau, Cory Clouston and Mike Keenan as candidates that he had either reached out to by phone or people that had actually reached out to him. The implication was that the pool of candidates could actually be larger than that so we should not assume that one of those men will be the next coach of the Dallas Stars.

Mike Keenan and Cory Clouston (former Ottawa Senator coach) are not names we had given much consideration to here so we'll be doing some more coaching profiles in the near future. Click on over to the DMN to read more on the search.

In the mean time, are you surprised to see Ken Hitchcock and Guy Carbonneau on a list mentioned by the general manager himself?

• GM Joe Nieuwendyk seems to imply that there is a way that the Stars will move forward with the coaching decision before ownership is in place if need be. [DMN]
• Thrasher fans are planning a rally to show support for the team as things become increasingly nightmarish for what faithful they do have there. Imagine the heart break of losing your team... [AJC]
• There isn't even a date on this one but it was supposedly posted sometime today, and if girls in bikinis are not safe for your working environment then I'll put a NSFW warning on this, but it's a list of athletes with hot daughters. Former Dallas Star Guy Carbonneau's daughter makes this list with a wedding picture of her and Brenden Morrow. [Totalprosports.com]
• ESPN Dallas has a note at the bottom of their coaching search story about free agents. GM Joe has reached out to the pending UFA's to let them know what's going on and it sounds as if there's no discussions on-going right now because of the ownership situation. [ESPN Dallas]
• A snappy retort to some Canadian media wagging their fingers and saying "I told you so" about hockey in the south. [Behind the Net]
• The billionaires trying to buy the Thrashers and move them to Winnipeg are now seeking some manor of government help to manage the debt on the arena. Really? [Globe and Mail]
• Manitoba says they will not subsidize an NHL team with taxpayer money. Sounds smart, wouldn't you say, Glendale? [Winnipeg Free Press]