Will Dallas Stars stick with co-GM set-up?
11:52 PM CDT on Wednesday, October 14, 2009
To be completely fair to Brett Hull, we have no idea what kind of general manager he would be if he was given the job alone.
I know one of the players he has always liked is Craig Conroy, and Conroy went out and had a great season with Calgary this year after signing a contract for $1.050 million. So maybe Conroy could have done the same thing in Dallas, if Hull was building the team he wanted.
The reason I use that example is because, while many readers don't believe Hull should run the team by himself, most of you believe only one person should run the team.
In a recent blog entry (http://starsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/04/so-what-do-you-do-with-co-gms.html), the majority of respondents said they would do away with the co-general manager set-up with the Stars and let one man do the job. Some fans wanted Les Jackson to do it himself. Some wanted to pursue a new GM, but most felt the team needed one hand steering the ship.
That's something owner Tom Hicks is going to have to mull in the coming weeks. People inside the organization indicate the situation will be studied and then discussed at a get-together later in the month.
The co-GM issue filters down and affects every other decision. Among other things, the Stars are facing personnel decisions, they have to decide how they want to use the eighth pick in the draft and they have to get their AHL affiliate in Cedar Park in line with a coaching staff and players.
But to do that, they have to have a direction and a plan. Hicks came up with this unique co-GM arrangement last season and could decide that the current administration is working fine. But he needs to make a decision soon.
Q: There was an article in a recent issue of The Hockey News that suggested that if Montreal doesn't make it to the playoffs this year that Bob Gainey might be the next to go. If, in fact, that should occur, what do you think are the chances he might return to Dallas to be the GM or coach, or to have a position in the organization?
Wayne L.
HEIKA: Hey Wayne, I don't think that will happen, but you never know up in Montreal.
Bob is not the kind of guy who just jumps around, so I would guess he would take some time off and consider his options. But I think he would be a great fit in Dallas in a return as the GM, and I think they could make that work and simply shuffle around the current front office people to make it fit.
It would be a very long shot right now, though.
Q: I am interested in hearing about the Jonas Gustavsson sweepstakes. The last update I saw was that the 6-4 netminder was looking at the Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs as possible teams to sign with. The Leafs need goaltending, while the Stars desperately need a backup and a replacement for Marty Turco a few years down the line. I appreciate any of the latest info regarding this Swedish phenom.
Scott in Dallas
HEIKA: Gustavsson can only sign a rookie contract with incentives, so there is a maximum amount of money that he will be offered – and apparently several teams are willing to offer that amount.
That means he is pretty much being recruited like a college athlete, and the process of being recruited means teams have to convince him that they provide the best place for him.
Toronto can offer Gustavsson the chance to compete for the No. 1 goalie job. Dallas will probably tell him he has the chance to push Turco next season, and that Turco's contract will be up at the end of the season and there is a chance to grab a future No. 1 job. Then it's up to Gustavsson to decide what he wants.
He might embrace the chance to go to Toronto and be in the center of a hockey-mad town with the opportunity to be the hero. He might rather take it slow, work in as a backup in a city that's not so hockey intense.
Gustavsson is a talent. He is a late bloomer, but he just won the Swedish Elite League championship at age 24 and appears ready to step in at the NHL level.
He is scheduled to participate in the World Championships later this month in Switzerland, so he cannot sign a contract until that tournament is over. Expect the recruiting to continue for the remainder of the month, and expect the Stars to make a hard push to sign him.
Q: Are the Stars pursuing Boston U. defenseman and unrestricted free agent Matt Gilroy? He seems like a good, young offensive piece to add to our defensive corps.
Todd in Colorado Springs
HEIKA: Because Gilroy will be 25 before training camp, he is under a different contract structure than Fabian Brunnstrom or Gustavsson, so the price is going to be much higher to sign him. I believe the Stars did their research and decided to not pursue heavily. They are putting their free-agent focus on Gustavsson.
Q: Since this is the highest the Stars have drafted in a long time, are you getting any hint from the organization that they will make a big push for a No. 2 or No. 3 pick, and get that franchise player that they haven't drafted in so long?
Robert W.
HEIKA: I'm sure they will study every alternative. However, to move up and get someone like defenseman Victor Hedman, who is projected as the No. 2 pick, would cost a lot.
The Stars would have to be willing to give up their eighth pick and also give up some very good young player (or players).
It's certainly possible. Stars co-GM Les Jackson said the team will have lots of discussions in the coming weeks. My guess is that moving up will be one of the subjects.
Q: Given the trouble the Stars have winning faceoffs, I wondered if faceoff ability is a projectable skill when drafting players, or is it only readily determined after spending time in the professional ranks?
Tony H. in Duncanville
HEIKA: If you study NHL faceoff stats, rookies almost always struggle, which kind of shows how much of an art it is at the highest level.
Of the top rookie faceoff guys this year, Jesse Winchester in Ottawa (56.8 percent), Tomas Plihal in San Jose (52.8 percent) and Nate Thompson for the Islanders (50.4 percent) were the big guys over 50 percent. Most of the others were in the mid-40s, and Patrik Berglund in St. Louis was at 39.8 percent.
So, while it would be nice to have a strong history in the circle, that doesn't mean they would bring quick help to the Stars.
My guess is Dallas drafts the best player available at No. 8. That seems to make the most sense when players are 18.
Q: Any chance Brendan Morrison will be back?
Reagan W.
HEIKA: I don't see how. He is a talented player, and he will be a great bargain for someone, but he is a left-handed center who can play left wing.
The Stars have Mike Ribeiro, Mike Modano, Brad Richards, Toby Petersen, Tom Wandell and Brian Sutherby under contact, and all are left-handed centers who can play left wing. They also have Brenden Morrow, Steve Ott, James Neal, Loui Eriksson and Fabian Brunnstrom as potential wingers, and all of them are left-handed.
They need some right-handed players. Morrison is a good guy and a good player, but he just doesn't seem to fit.
Q: What determines if a player becomes a restricted free agent vs. unrestricted? A restricted free agent has to wait for an offer from his current team before he can talk to another team, right? Whereas, an unrestricted free agent can talk to anyone?
Jennifer D.
HEIKA: There are all sorts of complicated formulas that involve age, service time, games played and even pay level from the previous season.
The basic rules are: A player can become unrestricted after seven years of NHL experience or by the age of 27, whichever comes first.
Thus, Jay Bouwmeester can become an unrestricted free agent this summer at age 25 because he started his NHL career at age 18.
The difference between unrestricted and restricted is that a UFA can offer his services to any team and sign with any team. An RFA can sign an offer sheet from any team without talking to his own team, and then the team that holds the RFA's rights has the right to match that offer sheet. A team that gives up a restricted free agent also receives draft pick compensation.
Edmonton signed Dustin Penner away from Anaheim with an RFA offer sheet. Anaheim chose not to match the offer, but did not know about the offer sheet until it was filed and that caused some harsh feelings. Still, the Ducks ended up with some great draft picks, so they seemed to have won the battle by letting Penner go. Edmonton had earlier offered Buffalo's Tomas Vanek an RFA offer sheet, but the Sabres matched it and kept Vanek.
Q: It goes without saying that coach Dave Tippett will get one more shot to rectify the Stars and himself after an injury-laden season. Should he struggle starting out, what do you think about a Stu Barnes-Guy Carbonneau coaching combo behind the bench? Is it a possibility or something to even theorize?
Paul in Frisco
HEIKA: I would say no.
I like Stu a lot, but I think even he will tell you he is very early in his coaching development. And I think Carbonneau will be hired this summer by a team that changes coaches (Minnesota maybe?).
I think with Brenden Morrow the captain (and the son-in-law of Carbonneau), the Stars should probably look in a different direction than Carbonneau if they need a new head coach.