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Dave Tippett back in the playoffs with Phoenix

have to admit, it’s great to see Dave Tippett succeeding in Phoenix. Tippett is a great coach and a tremendous person off the ice, and he deserved a chance to rebound after being let go in Dallas last summer. Jim Gintonio of AZCentral.com talked with Tippett about turning the Coyotes around in his first season as coach.

“I’m really proud of the work these guys have put in. It’s been a real good group effort with everybody. For me, making the postseason, I said earlier I fully expected us to make the postseason. Now the special time starts ... a good year turns into a great year if you can really play well in the playoffs.”

Gintonio also provides a bit of a barb in the direction of the Dallas Stars, saying:

One year in six that Dave Tippett does not make the playoffs apparently was one too many for the Dallas brass.

Today: Tippett has the Coyotes in the playoffs, and the Stars are not twinkling.

As the Dallas Stars sit at home for the second straight season, Tippett and his Coyotes will be taking on the Red Wings in the playoffs. There’s going to be the inevitable “See! The Stars should never have fired Tippett” cries, as the Coyotes take advantage of a supposed Stars folly.

As much as I want Tippett to succeed and see a good coach rewarded, he was not fired last summer simply because the Stars made the playoffs. He was coaching a team that had made it out of the first round just twice during his time there, and consistently underperformed when it counted most. The Stars struggled through horrid starts to the season two years straight, and there was a sentiment he had lost control of the locker room.

It was time for Tippett to move on, especially with Joe Nieuwendyk wanting the Stars to head in a new direction. That he succeeds in Phoenix should have no bearing on what happened last summer with Dallas.