Posted on Sat, May. 10, 2008

Hull's new-found patience paying off

By Jim Reeves

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DETROIT -- There was never any question in Brett Hull's mind why talented Swedish forward Fabian Brunnstrom would choose the Dallas Stars over NHL bluebloods such as the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs.

"I think he saw that there's a very good chance that there will be openings on our roster that would allow him to play for us next year," Hull said. "I think that was probably the deciding factor.

"Plus, I sent him an autographed picture."

Then he broke down in gales of laughter.

That Hull could find something to hoot about Friday, the day after the Stars were ignominiously slapped around by the Red Wings in the opening game of the Western Conference Finals, tells us two things.

One is that Brunnstrom has a chance to be one of those players who comes along only about once every 10 years or so, a player who can be a franchise difference-maker.

Two is that Hull, never known for his patience, has come a long way in his first year as the Stars' co-general manager with Les Jackson.

Far enough, fast enough, that owner Tom Hicks' first order of business when the Stars' playoff run is over should be to remove the "interim" tag from in front of Hull's and Jackson's titles.

Who knew this co-GM thing could work so well? Who knew that Hull would ever develop the patience required to handle a front-office job like this?

Oh, Thursday night's 4-1 loss was still agony for Hull, who'd rather have his toenails torn off than watch the Stars lose like that. But he's trying. He really is.

"It's murder," Hull said. "And it's not just games like last night; it's every game. When you're ahead, your lead's never big enough, and when you're behind it seems like it's impossible to catch up.

"When you're tied, it's like you'll never score again."

This, from one of the most positive-thinking people you'll ever meet.

"It's not a negative attitude, I promise," Hull said. "I knew we would beat San Jose in Game 6. It's just so much easier to play and have a say in what's going on, instead of just sitting there helplessly.

"When you're playing, you're out there and you can get the big goal, or set up the big goal, even make a defensive play (like he ever did anything like that). But when you're sitting up there, your hands are tied. You can't do anything."

Game 2 with the Wings is tonight at The Joe, and Hull, who won a Stanley Cup with each of these organizations, hopes the real Stars show up this time.

The fact is, Detroit simply may be too good for the Stars, but I do expect them to put up a fight, starting tonight. Their road to this point hasn't been easy. They've beaten the defending Stanley Cup champs (Anaheim) and disposed of the team most of the experts were picking to win it all (San Jose).

But Detroit is a different animal, and the Stars will have to go to a level they haven't reached all season to have a chance in this series.

Win or lose, they're a lot like Hull. They've come a long way since this season began.

It wasn't so long ago that we were bemoaning the fact that the Stars were getting old and the future didn't look so hot in an NHL where the salary cap makes it all but impossible to reload from one year to the next.

Somehow, though, the Stars have done just that. The core of this team has undergone a major makeover that could make them a viable Stanley Cup contender for the next five years, at least.

The new stars are Brenden Morrow, 29; Mike Ribeiro, 28; Brad Richards, 28; and Niklas Hagman, 28. Marty Turco is a young 32. Add the new Swede, Brunnstrom, to that list, and the Stars' future suddenly looks very, very bright.

Sure, senior citizens such as Mike Modano, Sergei Zubov and Jere Lehtinen are still major factors, but the team isn't built around them anymore. The future has arrived.

Credit Hull and Jackson for this transformation.

"It's an ongoing process," Hull said. "We're getting younger, faster and more skilled. That's what wins in the NHL now, and that's the direction we have to take the organization.

"With the great mixture we have, with Lehtinen, Zubov and Mike, they have a chance to teach these kids a thing or two about how to play, how to prepare themselves."

Making the adjustment from player, to "ambassador of fun," to general manager hasn't been easy for Hull. He's always been a shoot-first-ask-questions-later type of guy.

"The first thing I learned was that the pace of the job is a lot slower than I expected," he said. "Everything is set up for a certain date; the draft, free agency, the trade deadline.

"You can do stuff in between, but things move slowly. It's hard to explain, but the patience is something I learn every day."

Hull brings a perspective that players appreciate and, with his credentials, a voice that they'll listen to when he offers advice.

Coach Dave Tippett credits Hull with giving Morrow tips on scoring from places other than directly in front of the net that have helped take his game to another level.

"If there's one thing I know I was good at, it was scoring and getting to places to score goals," said Hull, who scored 741 regular-season goals and another 103 in the playoffs. "To me, it's all about deception. You can't be in the same spot all the time, or they're looking for you there. From a different spot on the ice, the net can open up in a different area.

"Brenden's really taken his game to a level that's great, and I still think he's only scratching the surface."

If Brunnstrom is the player the Stars believe he can be, he'll quickly join Morrow, Richards and Ribeiro as a top forward, giving them yet another prime scoring option.

"The potential for him to be a great player is there," Hull agreed.

"You just never know how things will work out when a player steps up to the next level, but he has all the ingredients: size, speed, nice hands."

That's why the Stars put on the full-court press, flying Brunnstrom to Dallas, showing him the team plane, the AAC, squiring him around the city's hotspots.

"I'd like to think the people we have working for us who make a difference; the whole group of people that met him and showed him around, our coaching staff," Hull said.

All important, of course. But let's get real here.

The deciding factor had to be that autographed photo of one of the NHL's all-time great scorers.

Seriously, who could resist a gesture like that?