Will Brett Hull Fit In With Stars?

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

September 23, 1998 / 8:28 PM EDT / CBS Sportsline

Dallas Stars coach Ken Hitchcock has heard the question so many times, it's ringing in his ears: Was free agent sniper Brett Hull the missing piece of his team's Stanley Cup puzzle?

Nope, he explains. It's just not that easy.

"We're no different than St. Louis Blues" Hitchcock says. "We're no different than Colorado. We're no different than Los Angeles. We're no different than Edmonton. We're all chasing Detroit."

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Last season the Stars rolled to a 49-22-11 finish, finishing first overall in the National Hockey League standings. But when the postseason arrived, the Red Wings showed everybody why they were the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Dallas managed to take Detroit to six games in the Western Conference final, but no further.

So the Stars retooled for this season, adding Hull and replacing injury-prone veterans Greg Adams and Bob Bassen with some up-and-comers. "We needed to add to our top six (forwards),'' Hitchcock says. "We felt in the playoffs, especially against Detroit, we needed to be stronger in that area."

When stars center Joe Nieuwendyk went down with a knee injury, the Stars found themselves lacking scoring punch. Nieuwendyk led the Stars with 39 goals and, other than Pat Verbena (who scored 31 last season), the Stars didn't have another big-time finisher.

Hitchcock

Dallas players such as Jamie Wright, right, know the pursuit of Detroit is on. (AP)

hopes Hull can provide scoring support while blending in with center Mike Modano and right winger Jere Lehtinen on a counterattacking line, leaving Nieuwendyk and Verbena for a pure scoring line. The Stars defense is sturdy and mobileled by banger Derian Hatcher and puck rushers Sergei Zubov and Darryl Sydor.

This is a team that can check like the New Jersey Devils, yet score with some explosiveness. Other than a bit more toughness, general manager Bob Gainey can't see too much more that this franchise needs.

"I feel very fortunate to come to a program like this,"" Hull says.

The Stars like to match Modano against the opposing top center to neutralize the foes offense and make that scoring line play defense. Lehtinen is a premier two-way forward.

And Hull? You get the since his acquisition was spurred by Star-struck owner Tom Hicks, not Gainey, but Hitchcock is confident the free-spirited shooter will be able to fit into his team's tight framework.

"That line is NOT the No. 1 scoring line," Hitchcock says. "It's our strong two-way line. Brett has to buy into the program to stay on that line. So far, he's done that."

Hull faces a tough adjustment, especially within Hitchcock's four-line system. Hull bristled at playing just 18 minutes a night for the Blues, but he'll have to earn a penalty-killing role to get more minutes in Dallas.

"I'm trying to adjust to a new system, which is pretty much like the old one," Hull says.

Playing with Modano will be an adjustment, too, because he has never been teamed with such an explosive skater. "He's probably one of the three or four most-skilled players in the game," Hull says. "It's amazing, some of the things he does. Sometimes it's a little difficult to keep up with him."

Hull is no miracle worker. The Calgary Flames won their Stanley Cup after trading him and he never reached the Final Four of the NHL playoffs as a Blue. And he joins a team that still has much to prove in the postseason.

The Red Wings remain the team to beat, but the revamped Stars could have a Hull of a chance next spring. Can this team pass Detroit and finally win it all?

"You know what?" Hull says with his trademark smile, "that's up to us."

Around the NHL

The Flyers are still working to salvage Alexandre Daigle, trying him at center with bangers Chris Gratton and Dainius Zubrus. Daigle ran like an old woman in the team's fitness run after spending the summer in Hollywood, hanging out with the likes of Pamela Anderson. . . The Rangers have stepped up their bid to re-sign defenseman Brian Leetch, who could become an unrestricted free agent next summer. He wants a lot more than the $15.8 million over three years that Rob Blake got from the Kings, but then again Blake won the Norris Trophy and Leetch may have been the worst defenseman in the NHL last season . . . The Senators will be a heck of a lot betteonce snipers Daniel Alfredsson and Marian Hossa return from major knee operations. In the first month of the season, the team may be leaning on retreads like David Oliver and Steve Leach . . . The Canadiens were zeroing in on new deals for restricted free agents Martin Rucinsky and Saku Koivu, but holdout Shayne Corson has gotten nowhere with general manager Rejean Houle. The Habs offered to upgrade and extend Corson's contract, which has two years left, but Shayne wants bigger money. "I won't negotiate with a striker," Houle said . . . Red Wings power forward Brendan Shanahan has recovered from back problems which slowed him in the playoffs last season. He wants to put up big numbers and the Red Wings dismiss rumors that he could be dealt if he doesn't.