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Wednesday, November 8, 2000
Old or just a little tired?
By George Johnson
Special to ESPN.com
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Were they too old or just plain worn to the bone? That's the question being asked around Big D in the wake of the six-game Stanley Cup Finals loss to New Jersey in the spring.
It's certainly true that no NHL team has put in more hours on the job than the Stars in the past three seasons – two trips to the championship series and one to the conference showdown.
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Wed., Sept. 27
The key for Dallas is injuries. The Stars were second to Montreal in man-games lost last year with 395, yet unbelievably they still made the Stanley Cup finals. They lost major players for extended periods of time. The odds are that they won't suffer as many injuries this season.
Ed Belfour proved last year that his play in net was good enough to keep the Stars winning and get them back to the Cup finals. This season, they will be highly motivated and have added more speed. Their core group of players is still young and have proven to be successful.
If the Stars stay healthy, they will win the Pacific Division again and be tough to beat in the Western Conference playoffs. |
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That's 309 games, contested in Dallas' grinding, methodical, exhaustive style. No wonder they looked done-in last June. But it's also been hinted that the Stars began to stock the training room with WD-40 rather than liniment and that, as much as anything, put the kabosh on back-to-back Cups.
So, the process of re-energizing the '99 Stanley Cup champions continues. Wisely, not with major cosmetic surgery – a little nip here, a tiny tuck there. To that end, the retirements of Guy Carbonneau and the oft-injured Brian Skrudland as well as the loss of free-agent defenseman Dave Manson to Toronto will, as a matter of course, make Ken Hitchcock's battallion a bit less creaky.
Clearly in becoming younger, the Stars naturally assume to get quicker. That's one area of the overall team game which needs addressing.
Goaltender Ed Belfour's sterling season – 2.10 GAA, .919 save percentage and 32 wins – masked quite a few holes starting to show in the Stars' foundation. Be sure Hitchcock and general manager Bob Gainey weren't fooled by the camouflage.
They need Joe Nieuwendyk to play more than 48 games. They need Brett Hull to score more than 24 goals. They need Richard Jackman to finally make the jump to everyday NHLer. They need to score more goals – which is where Hull, a healthy Nieuwendyk and a healthy Jere Lehtinen come in.
But don't be so quick to dismiss them just yet.
The Stars have a stockpile of good players and a system they've proven can take them the distance. Allowing the youngsters more ice time, which they need in order to improve, and making way for the odd new face will nautrally necessitate a transition period of sorts. Still, winning the President's Trophy isn't the ultimate goal of any team – check the St. Louis Blues for confirmation.
The Stars are a virtual lock on the Pacific Division and even factoring in some re-jigging of roles and personnel, will rank highly in the conference. All must be in readiness for mid-April because, once more, deep in the heart of Texas the ring is the thing.
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Bottom Line on the Stars
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Strengths
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Weaknesses
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Depth
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No Guy Carbonneau
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Defensive system
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Back-up goalie
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Old
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SEASON OUTLOOK: With Belfour, Mike Modano, Nieuwendyk, Lehtinen, Hull, Derian Hatcher, Sergei Zubov, Darryl Sydor and Richard Matvichuk in Dallas' lineup, they're not going to be performing cartwheels by merely getting through the first round of playoffs. The Cup, once more, is a tangible goal. |
George Johnson covers the NHL for the Calgary Herald. His NHL National column appears every week during the season on ESPN.com.
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