What does Steve Spott do for the Dallas Stars?

OK, fine, let’s have the conversation about what it would mean if the Dallas Stars fired assistant coach Steve Spott.

It’s by far the most popular topic on the DLLS Stars post-game shows, so much so that Spott has become a caricature on the show, a meme that both angers and feeds the passion of people in the post-game chat.

Spott is the person responsible for the Stars power play, which happens to be one of the biggest problems with the team.

As of this writing, the Stars rank 28th in the league on the power play, converting at a rate of 15.5 percent.

When the Stars fell to the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Friday, a disappointing loss, it came with an 0-for-3 power play showing, once again prompting social media comments to “Fire Spott.”

I’m not here to defend Spott keeping his job, that’s not my decision. But over the past couple days I’ve done my best to speak to those who have played for Pete DeBoer both in Dallas and his prior NHL stops to get an idea of what Spott actually does on a day-to-day basis.

DeBoer is an intense coach, maniacal about hockey. Spott effectively plays the role of his emotional balance, as one person put it, the person that keeps the Stars head coach grounded.

Spott also handles many of the day-to-day head coaching duties that allow DeBoer to focus more on the strategies and Xs and Os. For example, Spott is the one who builds out the team schedule and logistics of day-to-day practices.

It’s been this way for years, DeBoer and Spott are a package deal, and the head coach needs Spott as his filter. If you watch a Stars game, Spott is the one with the headset to the video room, he’s the person that sorts through which information makes it’s way to DeBoer on the fly.

This isn’t uncommon in the NHL, there are several head coaches that need their right-hand man, their human filter.

This week, as part of my other job, I was covering the coaching change in Detroit, where the Red Wings fired Derek Lalonde and his associate coach Bob Bougner to bring in Todd McLellan and his top assistant Trent Yawney. McLellan and Yawney were effectively a package deal, one wasn’t coming without the other, and when speaking this week about his job, McLellann spoke often about what he and Yawney would bring together.

Stars general manager Jim Nill is an ideal human manager, he understands the dynamics of his coaching staff. And for the Stars to have success with DeBoer, he understands that Spott’s role on the emotional and logistical level are more important than how he handles the Xs and Os of the Stars power play.

Again, this isn’t to defend Spott keeping his job, and if the Stars were smart, they’d look into juggling their power play approach. But firing Steve Spott isn’t just firing someone running the power play, it’s effectively removing the head coach’s most important daily asset.

Something to think about.