DALLAS -- Ed Belfour, coming off the worst of his five seasons with the Dallas Stars, won't be re-signed by the team.

	Belfour

Stars general manager Doug Armstrong said Wednesday his club will not pursue Belfour when the veteran goaltender becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1.

The Stars' decision to let Belfour go means Marty Turco will get his shot at being the team's No. 1 goaltender.

"Like anything in life, there are times you have to move on," Armstrong said. "We feel it's time to give (Turco) an opportunity to take a bigger role in this organization, and we're moving forward in that direction."

Belfour, 37, led the Stars to the Stanley Cup in 1999 and is the club's winningest goalie with 160 victories.

During the 1998-99 season, when the Stars defeated Buffalo to win the Stanley Cup, Belfour was superb in the postseason. He finished 16-7 with a 1.67 goals-against average in the playoffs, including three shutouts.

The following year, when the Stars lost in six games to New Jersey in the finals, he again delivered a clutch postseason performance. He was 14-9 with a 1.87 goals-against and four shutouts.

Belfour closes his career in Dallas with a 44-29 postseason record in four playoff appearances.

"Without Ed, we don't have the Stanley Cup," Armstrong said. "We don't have the five division championships. And we don't go to the finals again. He's been a rock for this organization."

But the star goaltender's tenure in Dallas was also blotted by several off-ice problems.

Belfour was arrested for allegedly assaulting a security guard at a Dallas hotel in March 2000. In January 2001, he left the team following a disagreement with then-coach Ken Hitchcock about an optional practice.

He also trashed the visitors' dressing room in Vancouver when he was lifted during a game last season.

Belfour's final season with the Stars was marked by inconsistent play and the emergence of Turco, who was Belfour's backup for the last two seasons.

Belfour had a 21-27-1 record, and gave up 153 goals in 60 games (2.65 goals-against), while Turco was 15-6-2 with a 2.09 goals-against and a .920 save percentage.

Only two goalies in the NHL who appeared in more games than Turco -- Colorado's Patrick Roy and Philadelphia's Roman Cechmanek -- finished with a better goals-against average than Turco. Roy and Montreal's Jose Theodore were the only NHL goaltenders to play in more games with better save percentages.

The age difference between the two goalies -- Turco is 27 -- also made it easier for the Stars to part with Belfour.

"It's a situation where Marty, for the first time in his career, is given a level playing field to earn the No. 1 spot," said coach Dave Tippett, who was hired by Armstrong last week. "He has everything in place to be a legitimate, Stanley Cup-contending goaltender.

"The past was great history. But now we're looking to move forward."