Dallas Stars could play a game in Cowboys Stadium

This concept is going to need one more season before it becomes a reality, but do not be surprised if in about one year the Dallas Stars announce they will play a home game at Cowboys Stadium. With the roof open, preferably.

The outdoor NHL game has become one of the league's signature events, but mostly those games have been confined to cold weather cities. With the Los Angeles Kings scheduled to play a game at Dodgers Stadium against the Anaheim Ducks, an outdoor game in a non-traditional market may become more frequent.

Talked to Dallas Stars president Jim Lites this morning and he said it's a concept that he has kicked around and believes can happen. Which means it will happen.

"We could do it at the Cotton Bowl but Cowboys Stadium makes more sense because of the cache of the building," Lites said. "You would do it in January or February, and open the roof. You can turn down the temperature of the ice to zero degrees. What we have at the time of year is not really a temperature issue but it's the rain. It's seldom humid at that time of year but it does rain."

The roof must be open. If not, it's just another indoor hockey game only with a giant TV set on top of the ice.

"It would take a lot of advance planning and really we are not in a position to do it this year," Lites said.

Lites said the amount of planning would be akin to hosting an NHL All-Star game, and would require several months of detailed work. 

"Two seasons," he said. "That would be about right."

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Dallas Stars exploring a move

DALLAS, Texas - So maybe that headline is a cheap way to entice readers but this is a competitive world we live in, people. I can't just write, "Dallas Stars exploring practice facility" because that's boring, even if it is the truth.

According to Dallas Stars team president Jim Lites, the team is exploring relocating its practice facility and team headquarters from Frisco to the city of Dallas. Lites said the Dallas mayor has been responsive to this idea.

On behalf of every member of the FW/d media who wants to or needs to cover this team, I say hallelujah! The Stars should never, and I mean NEVER, have relocated from Irving all the way out to the eastern suburb of Washington D.C. known as Frisco in 2002. 

"It's not going to be any time soon, but we're considering it," Lites told ME. "It's not like we don't like our facility here. We do like where we are, but we'd like to be in downtown Dallas to do business there."

Lites said a new building with a practice rink would cost anywhere from $10 - $12 million. 

When the team made this move in the summer of 2002 it basically gave the green light for the vast majority of the media in this town to never head to Frisco. Before, the Stars could easily piggy back with the Dallas Cowboys as the two facilities were roughly 30 seconds apart.

The Stars enjoyed more coverage as a result. Now the team can't win, their facility is too far away, and  fewer eyeballs see them on their local news.

Putting the team's headquarters in downtown Dallas would be a positive step in helping this team increase its visibility.

 

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New Dallas Stars GM has to change the apathy that surrounds this team

DALLAS, Texas - Approximately 8,323 people attended the introductory press conference for new Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill, nearly all of whom were members of the Stars organization. There is not a lack of caring or desire among the many good people that run this franchise. The issue is on the outside.

Nill was formally introduced as the new GM of the Stars on Monday morning at the American Airlines Center. He has a five-year contract to change what has troubled this team for so long few can remember – no one pays enough attention to put pressure on this team to win. No one is calling anybody out.

“We talk about it all the time; if we don’t demand it then nobody else is going to do it,” Stars president Jim Lites said Sunday.

Everybody from the players and coaches makes six to seven figures, and are quite comfortable with winning or losing because their standard of living is so high. The core fan base is so small and loyal that it’s not big enough to make a dent, and the members of the media that say a word make even less of an impression.

This problem is not specific to the Dallas Stars. A lot of teams in non-traditional markets fight it. People don't care enough to be mad. A very select few members of the media says a word about this team because to do is to risk alienating fans who want to hear about something else.

That’s just hockey in non-traditional markets. If the pressure and the demand to win does not come from within the organization, not enough external stressors exist to demand real change.

Stars owner Tom Gaglardi realizes a malaise is draped over the team. He sounds like a man, who having owned this team for about 18 months, is ready to raise expectations and make demands.

"The bar has to be higher," he told me after the press conference on Monday. "Great teams expect to win. If you do it properly and get to the top you can be hard to knock off. People in Detroit expected to win. The danger is if you don't win and let it go on for too long it can get tougher. You have to raise the bar."

Jim Nill should be a good hire because he comes from such a winning franchise, the Detroit Red Wings, that expects to win every year and does.

He also arrives at the right time. The team is stacked with quality young players. This team is loaded with wingers and defensemen. There are also high draft picks to find a quality centermen, or two.

I do not believe that Nill would have taken this job had he not felt the roster was right on the edge of moving up. He cherry picked his opportunity to leave the Detroit Red Wings because he knew there was tremendous potential to win with the Stars right now, and for a long while.

Hopefully he can make people care enough about hockey again to at least be mad.

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No shock: Dallas Stars to fire their GM & likely will have a new coach

Joe Nieuwendyk was loaded with perfectly reasonable explanations why the Dallas Stars stunk it up over the past four seasons, but despite those reasons enough mediocrity was enough. GM Joe, once one of this most celebrated names of this once proud franchise, is back to being another Joe.

A Dallas Stars source said that Nieuwendyk is out as the GM of the Stars. 

According to TSN.ca Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, he will be replaced by Detroit Red Wings assistant GM Jim Nill as early as Monday.

The Stars ended their season on Saturday night.

Makes perfect sense; Nill was with the Red Wings when current Dallas Stars president Jim Lites was a member of that organization. Nill has been next to one of the best GM's in the business in long-time Red Wings GM Ken Holland.

While we're at it, don't expect Nill to re-sign head coach Glen Gulutzan. His contract has expired, and it's hard to imagine a new GM will not bring in his own guy.

GM Joe's reign in the Stars front office was hamstrung mostly by the team's ownership problems from previous owner Tom Hicks. For three years of the four years of GM Joe's tenure, he was limited in his ability to make moves because at first Hicks didn't want to spend money, and when the team went into bankruptcy the banks that were signing the checks didn't want to do anything big.

Excuses aside, the Stars never made the postseason in Joe's tenure while many other franchises with uncertain ownernship situations still managed to win games and make the playoffs.

His trade of forward James Neal to the Pittsburgh Penguins for d-man Alex Goligoski was terrible. The reason to fire head coach Dave Tippett when he took over as GM may have been sound, but the subsequent hirings of Marc Crawford and Gulutzan as the were duds.

This is a franchise-record fifth consecutive season the Stars failed to make the postseason, and with interest in this team at an all-time low Stars owner Tom Gaglardi had no choice but to make this change.

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The Stars should trade Jaromir Jagr but can't

Even in this lockout shortened season of 48 games the Dallas Stars are hurriedly getting to another off-season by again skipping the playoffs. That should help spike season ticket sales.

They are 16-16-3 for 35 points, good for 12th in the Western Conference. They are only three points behind St. Louis for eighth place but a 4-0 loss on Monday night against Anaheim isn't exactly good for morale.

The team remains all-in with the young players, which is why general manager Joe Nieuwendyk needs to trade veteran center Jaromir Jagr before the NHL's trade deadline on Wednesday.

Signing Jagr to a one-year deal has worked out - he has 14 goals and 12 assists in 34 games and clearly still has something left. But if the team is going to be so committed to its young players and Jagr can get something of value in return, it would be best to move the 41-year-old forward.

Here is the rub - there is absolutely no trust in the man making the trade. Between the lopsided trade of James Neal, the extension of Kari Lehtonen and some coaching hires that have not clicked, the faith in Nieuwendyk's ability to make the right move is at a new all-time low.

Dealing Jagr for a prospect makes the most sense, but considering who is pulling the trigger on the deal you may as well cross your fingers the Stars can catch the eighth seed and ride out this nice production from the future Hall of Famer.

 

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Dallas Stars trade one of FW/d's all-time great guys

This day was coming but it is sad nonetheless: According to TSN.ca, the Dallas Stars have traded veteran forward Brenden Morrow to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Brenden Morrow agreed to waive his no-trade clause to complete the deal. In return, the Stars receive a package that will include defenseman Joe Morrow.

According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the Stars sent Brenden Morrow and a third round pick to Pittsburgh for Joe Morrow and a fifth round selection.

Here is top hoping Dallas Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk doesn't get fleeced on this deal with the Pens the way he did when he sent James Neal up there for Alex Goligoski.

Brenden Morrow, 34, was going to be a free agent after the season and all signs pointed to the Stars not resigning him in the summer. He was the 25th selection by the Stars in the 1997 draft and broke in the fall of '99. 

Since then, Morrow was one of the most decent and professional pro jocks this area has known. His performance against the San Jose Sharks in the 2008 Western Conference semi-finals was one of the most physically dominant and inspiring performances this franchise has ever seen. The Stars reached the Western Conference Finals that season, and have not returned to the playoffs.

The problem was the team around Brenden Morrow was not good enough, and his to-the-wall style does not age well.

Morrow had been the captain, and the soul of this team. The decision to trade him is another sign the Stars are turning over their keys to their stable of young guys, led by center Jamie Benn.

In 29 games this season, Morrow has six goals and 11 points in 29 games.

He is a great guy who deserves the chance to compete on a team that has a shot at the Stanley Cup, which the Penguins do.

Best of luck to Brenden Morrow. Wish him the best on Twitter @Minimo1zero.

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A match made in stupid: The NHL & expansion

Months after the second lenghty NHL lockout, the league that can't shoot straight has followed that exercise in stupidity with the long overdue realignment plan only to be followed by the incredibly bad, stupid and painfully dumb talk of expansion.

The league stuck in niche-dom wants to get bigger.

The NHL's new realignment plan calls for unbalanced conferences. The East will feature 16 teams while the West will have 14. Oh the humanity! This scenario lends itself to talk of adding two more teams for a pretty two 16-team conference set.

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby is a fan of adding two more teams, specifically one in Quebec City and another to the Toronto area.

Actually, that is a good idea. The problem is the cities that are most viable for a team are in the east. Quebec City should have its team (didn't it already have one), and Toronto is big enough to be able to support another franchise.

Just because Kansas City has a new arena with no primary tenant is a reason to put a team there. Just because Houston is large market is a reason to even consider it. Seattle is close to Vancouver, but that does not mean there is a hunger for an NHL team. The same goes for Portland. And no league has the stones to consider Las Vegas (it should).

What the NHL does not need is another non-traditional market team, such as South Florida and Phoenix, that thrive provided they make the third round of the playoffs every spring. If they don't, they are in trouble.

The NHL should strengthen its current lineup before expanding into markets that are going to require more assistance to survive.

 

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Long overdue: Dallas Stars should train in Fort Worth

Kudos to the Dallas Stars and Fort Worth mayor Betsy Price for kicking around the idea of holding a training camp in Fort Worth.

Click here for this report.

I am more impressed the team actually knows there is a market for this team outside of Frisco, Plano and Dallas. This is major progress that for years saw this team cater only to its established fan base.

The Stars, for years, have been frustrated at trying to reach out to Fort Worth and receiving little in return. When you are the Dallas Stars, however, there is little option but to keep trying.

The concept of holding a training camp to begin the 2013-'14 season is solid, and in hindsight maybe a bit overdue. The team can stay in one of the hotels in downtown Fort Worth, and walk over to the Fort Worth Convention Center to practice. There is ample seating for fans to watch, and plenty of opportunity for people to meet and interract with the players at the venue and throughout the city.

Perhaps the team could hold one preseason game in Fort Worth, but no more. I would doubt seriously the Stars would give up an opportunity to open the doors to the American Airlines Center, even for an exhibition game, any more than once.

And they shouldn't. As badly as this team needs to re-energize its fan base and find new people to be interested in the Dallas Stars, they can't take away any regular season home games away from its home rink.

The decision to hold training camp in Fort Worth does not appear imminent, but from the sounds of it the chances are good. 

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The best move the Dallas Stars made was dumping this guy

DALLAS, Texas - Bravo to the Dallas Stars and forward Jamie Benn for agreeing to a five-year, $26 million contract on Thursday. If the Stars have any chance of making the playoffs they need their best player playing, and preferably on the power play (yes, that's a shot at head coach Glen Gulutzan).

The Stars lost in overtime against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday evening, but they are already in better shape than last season's team simply because the mood is considerably better without the presence of one particular player.

Trading center Mike Ribeiro to the Washington Capitals was the best move GM Joe Nieuwendyk made last offseason. It may be the best move he has made as the team's GM. Ribeiro was absolute poison on that team. So talented, and so indifferent.

Already coaches and players are talking about how much this team's chemistry has improved from last season, and all fingers point to Ribeiro's absence.

Few players in the history of the Stars' franchise have been blessed with so much natural hockey skills and manage to care less about them than Ribeiro. The guy could fall out of bed and average a point of game. Imagine what he could do if he cared.

He scored 63 points in 74 games last season with the Stars, and so far this season has three points in three games for the Capitals.

As much offense as Ribeiro can bring to a team, the Stars are better off without him.

 

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FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! Cowboys continue spree of "uncomfortable" by going after local ice hockey team

Less than 24 hours after the Dallas Cowboys began this offseason of "uncomfortability" by finally firing reason No. 1 the team finished 8-8 - canning running backs coach Skip Peete - the team went after the Dallas Stars professional hockey club.

A Twitter message from the Dallas Cowboys this morning read, "Similarly in the category of nobody-cares…the NHL is back!"

YEAH! We may suck, but you suck worse.

Me thinks the Dallas Cowboys read my column this morning about the state of the NHL, which has just this perception - that nobody cares (No, I don't think they read it).

The Stars responded in turn by tweeting, "At least our #9 got the job done". Attached to said Tweet was a picture of Mike Modano holding the Stanley Cup, back in 1999.

Well played. Well played. A 10-year-old fondly remembers that moment.

The Cowboys realized the boo-boo and issued an apology that read, "our sincere apologies for the inappropriate tweet posted accidentally to our account. Good luck this season".

The Stars in turn accepted said apology.

Also of note from the Twitter world - Channel 8 veteran sports reporter George Riba Tweeted this this morning: ""Stars room is where u find players who want to talk. Cowboys open room - players go eat & lift weights"

What do both have in common? Neither team makes the playoffs.

Nothing the Dallas Cowboys Tweeted was incorrect.
Nothing the Dallas Stars Tweeted in turn was incorrect.

Just Truth Tweets.

 

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