Five for Fighting

GMs done, Tippett next?

Now that the general managers' contracts are complete, the focus has to turn to coach Dave Tippett. Get this done. Now. There's no need to wait longer than necessary. Brett Hull said he thinks it's a good idea that Tippett's deal mirror the GMs, so they all go in and are on the same time line together with this team. I agree. These three have a great working relationship together, they're on the same page.

Said Hull on the Tippett deal, "it not going to be difficult to get done. It's just about dotting I's and crossing T's"

GM deal is done

The Stars have signed their general managers Brett Hull and Les Jackson to three-year deals, taking them through the 2010-11 season. Rejoice! The interim tag has been kicked to the curb!

Anyway, you can't deny the job that these two have done with this group. They got the NHL talking with their acquisition of Brad Richards, and they sewed up Mike Ribeiro for the next five season. As Brenden Morrow said yesterday, "we were a good team before. But their insight on what the team was lacking really improved us."

The Stars were 38-23-4 under Jack-Hull, advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since the 2000 postseason.

Well done, guys. Wonder if this starts a trend of hiring two GMs in the league. OK, probably not, but Tom Hicks needs to be given credit for this idea. The NHL had a collective laugh in November when he did it, but I haven't heard much chuckling since.

Stanley Cup picks, anyone?

Hey folks,

The Stanley Cup Finals are a few days away, but we all know the matchup. Detroit vs. Pittsburgh. Hockeytown vs. the Steel City (even though it hasn't been a major manufacturer of steel for years). So, who's your pick?

I'm taking Pittsburgh in 7. Just have a love of that city since I grew up about 2 1/2 hours north of it, and I'm loving what the Pens are doing. Great youth. The only question mark, in my book, is their goaltending. But I think it'll be a good one nonetheless.

Closing time

It was clean-out-the-lockers day out in Frisco, and I must admit covering this one was much easier than covering the past two or three. Obviously, everyone was hoping for a run to the Stanley Cup. But there wasn't that sulking and anger that's come from the past first-round losses.

Anyway, the big stuff:
Philippe Boucher had some sort of a hip tear working through the postseason, according to him. He said he won't need surgery in the offseason ("surgery's for grade-three tears, mine is 2-plus," he said), but he'll be resting and trying his best to be ready for next season. He thought there was a chance he'd be ready for the Finals, if the Stars made it that far, but it wasn't to be.
Stu Barnes is unsure whether he's returning or not. He said it will be the Stars or none other, and missing the postseason may factor a bit into his decision. I'm not sure which way he goes, to be honest with you. The grind's got to be getting to him, but he's still a competitor. We'll see how that goes.
Mattias Norstrom is also in the "I'll think about it" category in terms of retirement. His wife and two kids are back in Sweden, but he said he will never play hockey in Sweden. It's either here in the NHL or not at all. As far as his sports hernia, he said it wasn't terrible (I don't know how you say that about a sports hernia, but OK), and that he won't need surgery.

Anyway, a great season for the boys. It was certainly a fun one to cover for me.
I wish everyone a happy, healthy summer. I'll be here periodically to say hello, or whenever news is on the horizon. Until then, I'm off to the golf course!

Tippett extension likely

Just talked with Les Jackson about Dave Tippett, and it looks like there's an extension in the head coach's future. Jackson said he'll make his recommendations to owner Tom Hicks later this week and go from there.

"He should get a contract that represents where he is in the league," Jackson said. "He should get what he deserves, and that's some stability."

More to come.

Game 6 slide show

Click here for a slide show of images from Game 6 by Star-Telegram staff photographers Ralph Lauer and Sharon Steinman.

Looking up

Well, we're done for this season, kids. But what a season, and postseason, it was. And what could be in the next few? You first wonder about some of the older players, guys like Mattias Norstrom and Stu Barnes. Norstrom went through a few injuries this season (eye, knee and sports hernia). And this was a guy who rarely had any in the past. Is this it for him?

Barnes is another question mark. The concussion situation never got better this postseason, and maybe this was his last hurrah. Anyway, we'll see what unfolds in the next few days.

Morrow, Norstrom were injured

True injuries always come to light once a season is over, and Dave Tippett talked after Game 6 about how injured captain Brenden Morrow and defenseman Mattias Norstrom were. Brenden Morrow was "basically playing on one leg" since Game 6 against San Jose in the last series. He also has a partial tear in his shoulder.
"He hasn't been the same since the last San Jose game," Tippett said.

Norstrom, meanwhile, was playing with a sports hernia through the entire postseason. Yes, that's the same injury that sidelined Sergei Zubov and Jere Lehtinen this season. "It's phenomenal he can get through that," Tippett said.

Postgame notables, farewell Stars version

So, the loss may be tough to take right now, but there really are many positives to take from this lengthy playoff run. A few stats of note from Monday's 4-1 loss to the Red Wings:

* Despite the loss, the Stars did become the 13th team in NHL history to force a Game Six when down three games to zero. Five teams have forced a Game 7. Two teams have won the series after being down 0-3.

* Dallas’ six-game Western Conference exit was the furthest the team has been since 2000, when they lost to New Jersey in the Stanley Cup Finals in six games.

* Stephane Robidas’ power play goal gave him points in two of his final three playoff games (1-1-2) and was his third postseason goal. He led Stars defensemen in goals and points (11).

* Mike Ribeiro’s assist (on Robidas' goal) was his team-leading 14th of the postseason. Ribeiro also led the Stars in points (17).

* Brad Richards' assist (on Robidas' goal) gave him a four-game point streak (1-3-4) to close the postseason. Richards finished second on the Stars in playoff assists (12) and tied for second in points (15).

-- Keeli Garza

Postgame quotables, losing team version

What a ride it was for the Stars this postseason. Here's what a few members of the team had to say after the 4-1 loss to the Red Wings and elimination in the Western Conference Finals:

Brenden Morrow: We didn't want to have any regrets. We went out and played a heck of a third period. We just started a little late tonight. ... For whatever reason, they carried the play. I haven't had the time to think about it. I don't think our jump, our urgency, was really there until the third period. We got one early and got a penalty and created some momentum for ourselves, but we just didn't find those next couple ones. ... I think we're all pretty disappointed still. We did come a long way this year. This wasn't our ultimate goal. We did make some progress. We know how much work we put into it and I think all of us are willing to do it again. We're going to let this set in. It's going to make us hungrier and we're going to come back stronger next year. There's not much quit in us. A lot of good work was done.

Brad Richards: When I got here, there was so much talk about, "are they a playoff team?" From the outside coming into this core of the team and seeing the guys battle for what they did is pretty impressive after what was said about them beforehand. ... It's tough to talk about (next year). It's hard to be excited but in a funny way, it's exciting to see such a core group together that did what they did here. Yeah, this is going to hurt for a while, but it's going to be fun to start a new quest next year.

Marty Turco: This is as tough as any as I've experienced. It was a tremendous feeling and opportunity to watch this team grow and accomplish what we have. The first thing that comes to mind is the things we could have done and the things that we can do as a team. I can't say that I've seen a bigger learning experience from a team in the last couple of months. It's probably the reason why it's the hardest to swallow. It's really disappointing when you come up short and you know things could ahve been a lot different. But we'll have a lot of time to talk and digest things. Personally speaking, once you have the feeling you can do something, it's a great feeling.

Stephane Robidas: Obviously at the beginning of the playoffs, I had a differe tole. Zubie was out, Bouch was out after the third game. They asked me to step up my game. I was one of the veterans on the team and they felt I was one of the guys who could step up his game and they asked me to do it. I just tried to do my best. It's just too bad. All that stuff is nice, but all you want is that big trophy at the end and we didn't get it.

-- Keeli Garza