Scouting Reports main page | Division Rankings
Dallas Stars
Overall: 1
Pacific Division: 1
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| The Stars hope the addition of the high-scoring Hull will help them reach their goal. (David E. Klutho) |
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The
Stars have it all: goaltending, a premier defense, two scoring
lines, wicked specialty teams, revered grinders, plenty of
leadership and the best quotes in hockey now that Brett
Hull has arrived to narrowly tip the balance of power from
the splendid Red
Wings.
Hull is the world's noisiest 27-goal scorer, a fountain of
opinion and candor in a mealy-mouthed league. Hull, a
one-way winger, is the antithesis of his general manager,
Bob Gainey, who's as measured now as he was stoic when he
starred as a defensive
forward for the Canadiens in the 1970s and '80s. Hull's style
might not be Gainey's style, but after seeing sly Detroit
shut down Dallas center Mike Modano last spring in the
Western Conference finals
en route to their second straight Stanley Cup, Gainey knew the
Stars were at least one game-breaker from a championship.
Hull, signed as an unrestricted free agent, will cost $17
million for the next three seasons, not back-checking
money. Although he has
averaged only 37 goals the past three years and hasn't
scored 50 since 1993-94, he's still capable, at age 34, of
at least 40—especially with the quality minutes he'll
get on the power
play.
"The main thing I want to be is a champion," says
Hull, a righthanded shot who will start at left wing on
Modano's line. "When the Stars called, I knew it was
an opportunity to
win."
"Brett has some challenges ahead of himself,"
Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock says. "It will be a
question of how quickly he makes an emotional contact with
the
group."
There's also the question of how quickly Hull makes an
emotional contact with Hitchcock. During his more than 10
seasons in St. Louis, Hull's relationship with several
coaches, notably Mike Keenan, was headline-grabbingly
rocky. Hitchcock is a stickler
for detail who rarely lets anything slide, not a comforting
thought for an instinctive player like Hull. As one former
Star put it, "I like Hitch, but he doesn't trust his
players."
The abundance of leadership in the Dallas dressing room (in
addition to captain Derian Hatcher, six other Stars have
been NHL captains: Hull, Guy Carbonneau, Mike Keane, Joe
Nieuwendyk, Brian Skrudland and Pat Verbeek) should smooth over the
inevitable eruptions. The downside of veteran leadership is
that it's veteran. Dallas is the NHL's oldest
team, averaging
TK years
old.
There's a wealth of mid-20's talent, including defensemen
Hatcher and Richard Matvichuk and defensive specialist Jere
Lehtinen, who will ride shotgun with Modano and Hull, but
the window of Stanley Cup opportunity for this franchise is
small because of
the high mileage on many of its core players.
The six former captains average 34 years of age, and four
other important players—goaltender Ed Belfour,
defensemen Craig Ludwig and Shawn Chambers and checker Dave
Reid—are all past 30. Because of the age factor, it will be to
the Stars' advantage that the new divisional setup and
revised schedule has reduced the arduous travel that marked
last season. Hitchcock has calculated that the Stars will
fly 11,000 fewer
miles, have 18 more practices and four or five extra
days off this year. That, folks, is
planning.
"You look at the teams that have won the Stanley Cup
the past three years, Colorado and Detroit, you see great
contributions from role players offensively and
defensively," Hitchcock says. "But before you can
get to that technical level, you have to
make some strides on the emotional level. We have some players
like Lehtinen, Modano and [superb power-play defenseman
Sergei] Zubov who should be at their prime physically, but
we have to make sure that everyone gets there in the
emotional areas at the
same time. We're not there
yet."
But the Stars should be there in
June.
—By Michael
Farber
Fast Fact
Left wing Jamie Langenbrunner had 39 points as a rookie
two seasons ago. Last year he scored 52 to become the only
rookie among the top 10 first-year men of 1996-97 to
increase his total
in his second
season.
Keys To Success
- Center Joe Nieuwendyk, who has the speed and
skill to create offense, needs to make a strong
comeback after undergoing surgery on
both
knees in the off-season.
- Free-agent signee Brett Hull must buy into
the
team-first concept. If he doesn't, unrest will
reign
in the Stars' dressing
room.
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