Dallas Stars fire Crawford

The Dallas Stars missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the final day of the regular season, and two days later coach Marc Crawford is looking for a new job.

General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk announced Tuesday that Crawford has been relieved of his coaching duties effective immediately.

"I would like to thank Marc for the hard work he provided to the Dallas Stars over the last two seasons," Nieuwendyk said in a statement. "We wish him the best in the future."

The Stars led the Pacific Division for a significant portion of the season before fading in the second half and finishing ninth in the Western Conference with a 42-29-11 record. They had a chance to make the playoffs with a win in Minnesota on Sunday night after the Blackhawks lost earlier in the day, but suffered a 5-3 defeat.

Crawford becomes the third coach to be fired in the last several days, following Cory Clouston in Ottawa and Peter DeBoer in Florida. New Jersey coach Jacques Lemaire also announced his retirement.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=559428

Coaches get fired pretty regurally in hockey