Report: Dave Barr Leaves San Diego Gulls to Coach Avangard Omsk

icon
4 min read
iconDec 1, 2024, 2:37 PMicon
Dave Barr helped the New Jersey Devils reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2012

Dave Barr helped the New Jersey Devils reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2012 (Photo by Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger)

64-year-old Canadian coach Dave Barr has left the Anaheim Ducks' affiliate team, the AHL San Diego Gulls, to become an assistant coach with Avangard Omsk in the KHL, a well-informed source told RG.

Barr will become an assistant to 53-year-old Guy Boucher, who had previously agreed to head Avangard earlier this week. The Canadian coaches will arrive in Russia by mid-December to head the Omsk club after the break. Their debut game could be as early as an away game against HC Sibir on December 17.

“Barr could have headed a KHL club himself, as Benoit Groulx did at Traktor. But Dave decided to become an assistant to Boucher, with whom he has been friends for a long time,” the source told RG. “Both coaches will be signing contracts until 2026, which Barr likely being tasked with handling strategy and special teams for Avangard."

Barr has been tan assistant coach for the San Diego Gulls, the Ducks' AHL affiliate, since August 2024.

Barr spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach in the Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres, and San Jose Sharks. He also served as an associate coach for the Florida Panthers in 2016-17. He helped the Devils reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2012.

From 2021-23, Barr worked as head coach for the Vienna Capitals of the ICEHL, Austria's top professional league. Barr also helped Team Canada win the 2021 U-18 World Championship as head coach.

During his 13-year NHL career, he played for the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils, and Dallas Stars. As a forward, he scored 332 points (128 goals, 204 assists) in 614 games before retiring from the NHL in 1994.

Sergey Demidov
Sergey Demidov
Head of News Department
iconicon

Sergey has been in sports journalism since 2007 as a reporter, editor, and manager. He has covered the Olympic Games, soccer World Cups, the World Cup of Hockey in 2016, the European championships, the Stanley Cup Finals, IOC events, and many others. Sergey interviewed the sport's greatest athletes, coaches, and executives. Since 2016, he has been an Independent Senior Editor of NHL.com/ru.

Interests:
icon
NHL
icon
EPL
icon
FIFA
icon
UCL
icon
NFL
icon
NBA
icon
tennis
icon
BWF
icon
Hiking
icon
Poker

More RG Exclusive Interviews

Hockey Writers

Daria Tuboltseva
Daria Tuboltseva
Hockey Reporter

Daria went to St. Petersburg State University and earned a bachelor of international journalism. Working as a sports journalist from 2014, from 2016 as a hockey journalist. Covered 5 World Championships, 2022 Winter Olympics, 2020 World Juniors, 6 Gagarin Cup Finals. 

Owner of a telegram channel Coolest Game on Earth.

Integrative nutritionist specializing on sports nutritionology.

James Murphy
James Murphy
NHL Reporter

With 24 years of experience (SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, ESPN Boston, NESN, NHL.com, etc.) covering the Bruins, the NHL, NCAA and junior hockey, and more, Jimmy Murphy’s hockey black book is filled with Hall of Famers, current players, coaches, management, scouts and a wide array of hockey media personalities that have lived in and around this great game. For 22 of his 24 years as a hockey and sports reporter, Murphy covered the Bruins on a daily basis, including their victorious 2011 Stanley Cup run and their runs to the 2013 and 2019 Finals. Murphy is currently a co-host, along with Pierre McGuire, on The Eye Test Podcast.

Jim Biringer
Jim Biringer
Reporter

Having 10 years of experience (SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, Rod Pedersen Show, Raw Mike Richards Show, and more) covering the Devils, the NHL along with College Football, the NFL, and the tennis circuit Jim Biringer has wealth of sports knowledge. As one of Jim's hockey coaches put it he is a "student of the game." During his time as a sports reporter, Biringer has covered some of the biggest events including most recently the 2024 Stanley Cup Final along with several NHL Drafts. He is also the host of the Full Press Hockey Podcast and Final Word on Hockey plus Around Campus - The College Football Podcast.

Marco D'Amico
Marco D'Amico
Hockey Reporter

Marco D'Amico is a beat reporter covering the Montreal Canadiens and the NHL Draft, while also being a recurring guest on TSN690 and BPM Sports. His work primarily on NHL CBA breakdowns and prospect analysis, all while covering the Montreal Canadiens on a day-to-day basis.

Igor Rabiner
Igor Rabiner
Columnist

Igor Rabiner has written for Sport-Express, the biggest Russian sports website, since 1994. He has covered seven FIFA World Cups, seven Winter Olympics, and three Summer Olympics. He is the author of 28 books with total sales of over 500,000 copies. He won an AIPS Sport Media Award for best column and interviewed exclusively Pele, Wayne Gretzky, Franz Beckenbauer, Alex Ovechkin and many other soccer, ice hockey, and tennis superstars. From 2016 to 2021, he has regularly contributed to the Russian version of NHL.com. Has contributed to The Guardian, British soccer magazine The Blizzard, and other world publications. One of the authors of the encyclopedia 'Kings of Ice," which came out in North America in 2002. From 2013 to 2021, Rabiner was a co-owner and teacher in a private sports journalism school in Russia. He has 56,500 followers on X and over 25,000 readers on Telegram, Facebook and Instagram.

Show More