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| Turgeon |
IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Stars got a pretty good
consolation prize Sunday, signing free agent Pierre Turgeon to a
five-year contract.
Unable to land free agents John LeClair and Jeremy Roenick, the
Stars instead signed Turgeon, the leading scorer for the St. Louis
Blues last season.
"I was never convinced that Pierre Turgeon was going to be
available today," Stars general manager Bob Gainey said. "There
were players dancing in our heads as potential players to look at.
Some of those players we projected became concrete.
"We feel we've made a mark by convincing and coming to an
agreement with Pierre Turgeon," he said.
Until last week, the Stars planned to pursue LeClair and
Roenick. LeClair decided to stay with Philadelphia, the same team
Roenick will join after five years at Phoenix.
The Stars also got Rob DiMaio, who signed a three-year deal to
join his seventh team in a 13-year NHL career. DiMaio left Carolina
after one season, signing a three-year contract with Dallas.
"He wasn't the player that we would have naturally moved to. We
had a scenario we would have like to have followed," Gainey said.
"But we know that we needed places, needed people to fill spots on
our roster. We were looking at different players who fit as a good
checking right winger."
Turgeon and DiMaio didn't attend the news conference during
which their signings were announced. Financial terms of the deals
weren't released.
Turgeon scored 30 goals and had 52 assists last season for St.
Louis, which beat the Stars in the second round of the Western
Conference playoffs, and advanced to the conference finals for the
first time since 1970.
DiMaio had six goals and 18 assists for Carolina.
Gainey wasn't specific about how the signings will impact the
futures of Brett Hull and Mike Keane, both Dallas players who
became unrestricted free agents Sunday. Gainey said their careers
as Stars may not be over.
"Not particularly. Rob DiMaio really fits more in the category
that Mike Keane would have fit in, but I wouldn't say it's exactly
the end," Gainey said. "Brett Hull, or any number of players that
are gifted offensive players, we would like to have, to fit in to
lead our forwards. We are following along with a method we have
begun."
The Stars didn't exercise a $7 million option for 2001-02 for
Hull, who ended his first season in Dallas with a disputed goal
with one foot in the crease that won the 1999 Stanley Cup. They
hoped to find a younger, accomplished scorer.
That they found in the 31-year-old Turgeon.
Hull, a 16-year veteran who turns 37 in August, has said he'd
like to stay in Dallas. And he knows he would have to come back at
a cheaper price.
Hull scored 95 goals the last three seasons in Dallas, including
a team-high 39 last season to go along with 40 assists. His 649
career goals ranks seventh in NHL history, 39 more than his father,
Bobby, and second-most among active players behind only Mark
Messier (651).
Gainey said the Stars had hoped to pursue Joe Sakic, but the MVP
and captain of Stanley Cup champion Colorado signed a new contract
with the Avalanche.
"By the time we got started, he had re-signed," Gainey said.
"I got my eraser out quickly and his name disappeared."
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