It Has To Start Somewhere

Out with the old, in with the new. My neighbors are moving, so every trash day I see different pieces of furniture and outdated appliances sitting curbside. The Stars got rid of the old (Morrison, Parrish, Zubov, Tippett) and brought in some new (Skrastins, Auld, Crawford). But could this amount of change be too much?

The most notable change is the man standing behind the bench. Gone is the stern face of Dave Tippett, replaced with that of Marc Crawford. Not only does he have twice as much experience as Tippett (fourteen years to only seven) but he ultimately brings a whole new style of hockey to Dallas. The previous two tenures over the Stars have been about one thing and one thing only: Defense. That won us the Stanley Cup a decade ago, but the game is changing. Hockey transitioned to an offensive game with the removal of the two line pass. Dallas stuck to defense first, but it’s time for change. People in Texas like flash. They want touchdowns. They want dunks. They want goals. That’s why Nieuwendyk brought him in. This team has the offensive potential; Ribeiro the magician, Morrow the warrior, Brunnstrom/Neal the next big things, Brad “Conn Smythe” Richards, and Modano the “Real American Hero”. Die hard fans could probably give a nickname or attribute to just about everyone else on the roster, which only adds to the talent this team has. Putting on a better show by finding the back of the net could even boost attendance which started lagging last season. More fans equals more money, and with the Stars falling roughly ten million dollars under the salary cap, that could really come in handy at the trade deadline. (Assuming we have money)

The Dallas Stars have guys who can light up the lamp. So what? Who cares if you score three goals a night if you give up four? I understand trying to push more for offense, but the defense has to remain solid. With defenseman averaging 26 years old, the time to step up is now. We have the veteran prescence of Karlis Skrastins to replace the departed Sergei Zubov and just inked Stephane Robidas to a four year extension. That’s two solid defenders, but how far can two guys get you? Matt Niskanen, Mark Fistric, and Niklas Grossman have spent the past few years developing and learning with the help of Zubov and Philippe Boucher. Not only does their play in front of Marty Turco have to solidify, but so does their prescence on the power play. When Boucher left for Pittsburgh, the Stars power play took a huge hit. Gone was his big shot from the blue line and Dallas fell to 27 in the league (15.4 percent). Modano filled in, but every team needs their own Zdeno Chara. Niskanen showed he had potential, making him a worthy candidate, but only time will tell.

Marty Marty Marty. The man between the pipes. Last year was statistically the worst season of his career (2.81 GAA, .898 SV%). However, he also started the most games in his career. Think there’s a correlation? Dallas has always had good backup goalies, (Dan Ellis, Manny Fernandez) but last year seemed to be different. When Turco didn’t start, the position flat out didn’t look good. I feel he took it upon himself to be the savior of the team, which he is capable of doing, but just fell short of last season. One man can’t do it all. The off season acquisition of Alex Auld should take some of the pressure off Turco and allow him to take more days off to ensure he’s at the top of his game. This really could bring a world of difference to the net minder, especially late in the season during a hopeful playoff race.

I’m willing to blame last years’ 36-35-11 record on injuries (which didn’t stop the Blues) but this year there are no excuses. This team has learned about adversity, knows how to deal with it, and must now take the next step. The Dallas Stars begin the 2009-2010 campaign Saturday, October 3, at 7 p.m., against the Nashville Predators.