Needing change, Stars opt for hydra-headed paralysis

The inability to replenish a core of aging stars has led to a massive front-office shakeup in Dallas. Victor Decolongon/Getty Images

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If you simply glanced from the outside at the Dallas Stars' 7-7-3 record, things might not seem so bad. But anyone who's spent time watching this maddeningly inconsistent team knew that it was in need of change. A trade. Maybe a new man behind the bench. Something, anything, to shake up an awkwardly-constructed group that too often sank into extended periods of complacency that ended up costing them points.

The music finally stopped on Tuesday morning when owner Tom Hicks -- who apparently needed Saturday's meltdown against the Kings to recognize the dysfunction that has long plagued this team -- announced that the first man who was left without a chair was general manager Doug Armstrong. On Wednesday, long-time team president Jim Lites was shuffled over to the Hicks Sports Marketing Group and replaced by Jeff Cogen, who has been toiling as president of the Texas Rangers, the major league baseball team that Hicks also happens to own.

As far as it goes, this was an attention grabber. But any hope that the Stars will change for the better on the ice is as tenuous as their playoff chances. Hicks announced that Les Jackson and Brett Hull are in charge for the rest of the season as interim co-GMs.

Exactly what this team needs. More treading water.

Hicks' approach -- handing power to two men on an interim basis for the rest of the season -- could prove more disastrous than doing nothing. After all, will they -- or should they -- have the power to make the kind of dramatic moves this franchise needs when both guys are on a short leash? And the potential for paralysis if the two men disagree on a possible move seems high. But here's news that's sure to allay the fears of Stars fans: if Jackson and Hull come to blows over a decision, the final call goes to a highly-regarded hockey man.

Tom Hicks.

I guess Maggie The Monkey couldn't break out of her deal with TSN. Just call this Islanders West, as Charles Wang's goofy rule-by-committee philosophy seems to be taking hold.

As it is, handing the reins to the inexperienced Hull along with Jackson, a man who was intimately involved with the team's ongoing drafting failures, seems counterintuitive, especially when former Kings GM Dave Taylor -- newly hired as the Director of Player Personnel and far less attached to the players in the system -- is on hand.

The case for slipping the noose around Armstrong's neck was solid. Sure, his teams had won a pair of Pacific Division titles and captured the third-most regular season wins in the NHL during his five-year tenure. But when you're a good team, it's all about the playoffs. Three consecutive one-and-done performances -- and no sign that the Stars' fortunes would improve in the future -- made it clear that the organization was heading in the wrong direction under his stewardship.

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