Marty Turco and Dallas Stars Hockey

source: DallasStars.com

DALLAS STARS RIGHT WING ANTTI MIETTINEN AWARDED ONE-YEAR CONTRACT

FRISCO, Tex. – Dallas Stars General Manager Doug Armstrong announced today that right wing Antti Miettinen has been awarded a one-year, $885,000 contract by a Toronto arbitrator.

Miettinen, 27, collected 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points in 74 games with the Stars last season. He ranked third on the team in hits (145) and logged an average of 14:19 minutes of ice time during the 2006-07 season. During the 2007 playoffs, he tallied two points (1-1-2) in four games.

“We’re happy to have this process behind us and to have Antti under contract for the upcoming season,” said Armstrong. “We accept the arbitrator’s decision as a neutral party.”

The 6-0, 190-pound right wing has appeared in 169 career NHL games with Dallas, posting 23 goals and 34 assists for 57 points with 84 penalty minutes. He has also skated in nine Stanley Cup playoff games over his career, notching one goal and two assists for three points.

The Hameenlinna, Finland, native appeared in his first full NHL season with the Stars in 2005-06, registering 11 goals and 20 assists for 31 points in 79 contests. The first NHL action he saw came during the 2003-04 season with Dallas when he recorded one goal in 16 games before playing the reminder of the season with the Utah Grizzlies of the American Hockey League.

Dallas’ seventh round selection (224th overall) in the 2000 Entry Draft, Miettinen was named the Finnish Elite League Player of the Year in 2002-03 with HPK Hameenlinna. He skated for Team Finland at the 2003 World Junior Championships and was selected to represent his country at the 2006 Winter Olympics, but had to withdraw due to injury.

Audition Videos from the 2007 Ice Girls Tryouts

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source: DallasStars.com

One of the most enduring and respected figures in the Kings’ organization, Dave Taylor, will no longer be with the franchise.

Taylor’s contract expired June 30, and it is expected he is going to be hired by the Dallas Stars in a front-office capacity, according to a source familiar with the Kings, though nothing has been finalized.

Taylor, who played 17 seasons for the Kings and served as general manager for nine more until April 2006, on Thursday called his three-decade tenure with the team “very rewarding” and said he was “looking to a new challenge.”

This past season, Taylor served as the team’s director of amateur development and it appeared as though the Kings were poised to increase his role.

Taylor, 51, was drafted by the Kings in 1975 and made his NHL debut in 1977. “I spent over half my life with the Kings. I have no regrets,” he said.

A five-time All-Star, Taylor was a member of the vaunted Triple Crown Line with Marcel Dionne and Charlie Simmer, served as team captain for four seasons and played in a team-record 1,111 games.

source: LA Times

THE NEW DALLASSTARS.COM
The Dallas Stars have launched a new and improved DallasStars.com! The official website of the Stars features an exciting new look and attitude, exclusive video content through StarsVision, the most up-to-date news and statistics, along with all your favorite features from the previous site - Player profiles and interviews, Razor’s Blog, 3D Seat Viewer, message boards and podcasts.

I don’t think this new logo will make them any better of a team.

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The new look of the San Jose Sharks was unveiled at a 10 a.m. news conference Tuesday.

The new San Jose Sharks Primary Crest, joined by eight supporting marks, is both a re-imagination and a tribute to the original triangle logo used since the team’s inception in 1991, according to the team’s Web site.

The updated crest incorporates more Pacific Teal, the primary color of the Sharks, and emphasizes speed, strength and determination, said logo designer Terry Smith 

Joe Sager | pittsburghpenguins.com

Darryl Sydor found a new team, but he’ll be searching for a new nickname.

That’s because “Syd” just happened to join a Penguins team with another famous Sid – NHL scoring champ and MVP Sidney Crosby.

“I think I might have to get my nicknamed changed,” Sydor said with a laugh. “His name has gone along further than mine.”

Darryl Sydor

It’s not like the veteran blueliner has had an unsuccessful career. Sydor is a two-time Stanley Cup champion (Dallas 1999 and Tampa Bay 2004) and has 471 points (94+377) in 1,097 career NHL games. He hopes his experience pays off for the young Penguins squad.

“I have been able to learn under players like Charlie Huddy, Craig Ludwig, Guy Carbonneau and Mike Keane,” he said. “I learned from Charlie in LA and these other guys in

Dallas where I took a lot of learning experiences from and then I’ve been thrown into some situations where I have been able to take my game to the next level. Now, being an experienced defenseman, you’re relied on a lot more in important situations.”

Sydor is thrilled to join the Penguins and help further the team’s growth.

“The Penguins were very interested and I felt like I was wanted. Talking to the coach and talking to the GM, I was very excited about coming here,” he said. “Having players call and saying I’d be able to help them out a lot and I’d be a good fit meant a lot to me. They are one of the teams that was interested right from the start, so I am glad we were able to get something solved.

“It’s very exciting to watch these guys. It seemed like there was something new every night watching the kids play. At the other end, we have to keep the puck out of our net and be a team and that’s what they’ve been. From what I hear, they are a close team with a lot of good people.

“Obviously, watching them, I saw last year was a good year, but then again, that was last year and this is a new year. So, we need to regroup and focus on achieving more.”

Sydor brings reliability, as well as experience, to the Penguins’ defensive corps.

The 35-year-old will enter his 16^th season in 2007-08. Yet, he’s missed very few games over his career. He’s appeared in at least 74 games each season since the 1994-95 campaign, which was cut short due to a work stoppage.

“If you have injuries, you play through them. That’s what hockey players do,” he said. “I have been very lucky and fortunate throughout my career to not have many major injuries. You just try to stay in shape the best you can.

“If I am not out there getting hit and battling and getting in people’s faces…I am not the biggest guy, but if it’s a slow game, I am not doing something right. Skate, move the puck and be physical. I think that is my game.”

Sydor has spent most of his career with Western Conference teams in Los Angeles, Dallas and

Columbus. However, he spent half of the 2003-04 season and all of 2005-06 with

Tampa Bay, so adjusting to the Eastern Conference’s playing style won’t be a major obstacle.

“There will be some adjustment, but you just have to understand the team concept and what you do and then you go out and play the game,” he said. “There is a difference in the conferences, but I am looking forward to it.”

And, he looks forward to being on the ice with

Crosby.

“I am very excited,” he said. “Being able to break into the league and play with guys like Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri and then to be able to come across another player of this caliber that is doing outstanding things is very exciting for me.”