Is it better to gamble on kids or a shot at the Cup?

	If he hadn't been dealt to Calgary in 1995, Iginla would make the Stars a Cup contender now, but Dallas hardly regrets the deal. WireImage
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When the Dallas Stars next take their home ice, not one of them will be wearing the No. 12. It didn't have to be an empty sweater. There could have been a superstar wearing it if only the Stars had chosen a different path. If they'd decided to protect their assets.

The Stars certainly would be better than a middle-of-the-pack club today if they'd given that No. 12 jersey to Jarome Iginla instead of dealing the then-junior hockey star as part of a package to Calgary back in 1995 for Joe Nieuwendyk. But instead of watching the game's most complete player, Dallas fans can look up to the rafters at the American Airlines Center and see the 1999 Stanley Cup Championship banner -- one that couldn't have been claimed without Nieuwendyk.

And Stars fans are just fine with that. They understand that if you want to play with the big boys, you have to ante up.

Listen to talk radio anywhere hockey matters and you'll hear the die-hards revealing their schemes to acquire the last piece of a championship puzzle. These routinely involve defrauding another club, trading them furs and beads for a 40-goal scorer or number-two defenseman.

The reality is that players with the chance to make that kind of impact rarely come as cheap as fans hope. That begs the question that faces about a dozen squads before the Feb. 27 trade deadline: if it helps your team post a legitimate challenge for the Cup, are you willing to mortgage your future?

Few teams win without taking that leap of faith at some point during the season. The Hurricanes gave up their 2006 first-rounder, plus two more picks and three warm bodies for Doug Weight. The Lightning filled a hole in their offense by dishing a second-rounder to St. Louis for Cory Stillman before their Cup season of 2003-04.

Any of those players and picks could one day turn into the next Iginla. But ask the 'Canes and Bolts and they'll tell you that their skate with the Cup was worth the price.

Of course, there are no guarantees. Sometimes you have to wait for the payoff, as the Stars did with Nieuwendyk, or the Avs had to when they dealt Brian Rolston, Sami Pahlson, Martin Grenier and a first-rounder for Ray Bourque and Dave Andreychuk. And sometimes your boldest moves only get you heartbreakingly close. Any fan of the 2005-06 Edmonton Oilers can sing you that song.

That's why the deals are so hard to make. The talent setback is even more painful when the job doesn't get done. No matter how many teams put their cards on the table, only one walks away a winner.

But windows of opportunity only stay open for so long. In the cap era, with increased player movement and cost restrictions, those openings are becoming shorter and shorter. If the pieces fall into place, if the chance to win arises, you have to decide whether or not you believe enough in the team you already have assembled to take the leap of faith.

For some teams, the answer has to be no. Atlanta for instance, with so many key players not yet in their peak years, can afford to wait. No reason to give away the farm just yet.

But what if you're Anaheim GM Brian Burke, a man who appears to have all his, ahem, ducks in a row? It's easy to talk about believing in the team you helped build. But as the Ducks' recent rash of injuries demonstrates, Anaheim's date with the Cup is far from a fait accompli. There are improvements that can be made, redundancies that can be added. If Burke can pick up a premium winger with some grit to add another dimension to the second line, or perhaps a seasoned defenseman to fill out the bottom end of the blueline corps, can he possibly waffle at the asking price if it doesn't involve a roster player?

If you're Buffalo's Darcy Regier, guiding a powerhouse team that is facing the possible exodus of two critical free agents after this season, you have an even tougher decision. It's a young team, and you may even be able to re-sign Chris Drury and Daniel Briere. But if the kids don't take that next step, and you don't get the vets back in the fold, you may never get this close again.

Not to oversimplify, but prospects are prospects because they're not yet good enough to play in the NHL. And the reality is, they may never be. Bobby Ryan and Drew Stafford may be the second coming of Cam Neely, but they could end up being busts like previous untouchables Alexei Smirnov and Barrett Heisten.

Prospects, picks and young talent are the coin of the realm for a rebuilding franchise. But the ultimate goal, at least for most franchises, goes beyond building a young, promising, affordable team. The prize is the Cup. And once you get to the point where you're actually in contention, you have to decide whether you have the stones to take that next step.

If you can win today, you must go for it. Picks and prospects are phantoms. Pay the price and worry about tomorrow when it comes.