High-priced imports should bring the offense -- and the team -- back to life

By L. Jon Wertheim

Bill Guerin.  David E. Klutho SI Fast Fact Bill Guerin had 355 shots in '01-02 but only 66 points, the fewest by any player in history with as many as 350 shots in a season. SI Insider Rankings Offense: 5 Outstanding punch down middle: Modano, Turgeon, Arnott Defense: 9 Addition of Boucher provides size and depth Goaltending: 18 Unproven Turco is active and loves to handle puck Special Teams: 5 Zubov makes PP hum; Young will elevate PK Management: 13 G.M. Armstrong hired top coaching talent in Tippett

When the Stars opened training camp last month, defenseman Derian Hatcher regaled his teammates with tales from the off-season. Along with his brother Kevin, a former NHL defenseman, Hatcher is the co-owner of Let's Play Racing, one of the top teams in the American Power Boat Association's offshore racing circuit. The Hatchers let a pro driver race the boat, but they followed their 38-foot, Factory 2 class craft in races from Corpus Christi to Hyannis and collected four top-three finishes. "I've always loved powerboating and racing," says Derian.

Even so, Hatcher figures he had too much time to spend on his hobby last spring. Owing to combustible team chemistry, numerous injuries and an abysmal penalty-killing unit that ranked 26th in the NHL, Dallas finished 36-28-13-5 and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1996-97. To avoid a repeat performance, owner Tom Hicks committed more than $60 million to free agents. First Dallas plucked forward Bill Guerin, who scored 41 goals with the Bruins last season; he is likely to play with wing Jason Arnott and center Mike Modano on the top line. Second, the club added steady wing Scott Young. The Stars also signed Philippe Boucher, an improving defenseman who played 80 games for the Kings last season.

The most significant off-season move, however, was hiring coach Dave Tippett to replace the fired Ken Hitchcock. Tippett, 41, became a hot NHL prospect after he helped the Kings become the league's most effective power-play team last season. The Stars hired him to add some va-va-voom to an offense that had idled under Hitchcock's neutral-zone trap. "It's not do-whatever-you-want-to-do," says center Pierre Turgeon of Tippett's puck-possession approach, "but we'll be more wide-open than we've been."

For all the optimism in Dallas, Texas-sized questions abound. Will goalie Marty Turco be solid enough in his first season as a starter? Can Arnott and Turgeon find their old form after underachieving last season? Adding to the drama, Hicks announced that he's selling the team. The Stars may not win the Stanley Cup, but Hicks's upgraded team will be worth more next spring than it is today.

Issue date: October 14, 2002