Stars hire fan favorite Carbonneau for front office job

by J. Douglas Foster, May 27, 2002

As far as anyone knows, Guy Carbonneau doesn't change clothes in a phone booth. He doesn't have X-ray vision or an aversion to Kryptonite and he can't fly around the earth so quickly as to stop its rotation and turn back time.

But don't tell Stars fans that. As far as they are concerned, Carbonneau was the closest thing to Superman the city of Dallas has ever seen.

"The way he played, he was just a competitor night in, night out; shift in shift out," Stars general manager Doug Armstrong said. "The team counted on him at important times of the game. Fans understand that and they feed off that. And his willingness to sacrifice his body was a big part of what made him a special player.

"When you see someone that competes the way Guy competed, it's easy to understand how you get that special relationship with the fans."

He was only in Dallas for five seasons, but he gained legendary status among Stars' fans for that willingness to do whatever it took to win. With that in mind, his return to Dallas will most likely meet with as much fanfare.

That return became official on Memorial Day as the Stars hired Carbonneau to be the Special Assistant to the General Manager.

"It's good to be back," Carbonneau said Monday. "I played here five years and I really enjoyed the city and the organization. And I know they are going in the right way."

A key figure during the Stars' stretch of late 1990s greatness, Carbonneau's arrival almost coincided with the start of a run of five consecutive division championships. His second season in Dallas began that stretch, and in 364 regular season games with the Stars, Carbonneau recorded 34 goals and 66 assists for 100 points.

His real impact, however, was felt in the postseason. He appeared in 63 playoff games with the Stars, posting seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points. He was also the model of defensive efficiency during those runs, playing a key role in critical playoff series' while helping to shut down opponents' top lines.

And maybe the way he best won over Dallas fans was his toughness and grit, playing through any injury he had during the postseason. In 2000, his last season, he helped the Stars reach the Stanley Cup Finals despite a broken wrist that required a cast. In fact, before the playoffs were complete he personally sawed that cast off his hand because it was inhibiting the way he was able to handle the stick.

It's no wonder fans loved him.

"For me it's always been about the love of the game," Carbonneau said. "I started playing when I was a kid because I loved the game. When I was 6-years old I wanted to play in the NHL. Every game was a big challenge, and the only thing on my mind was to win. It was a little bit like that in Montreal where I always had a good relationship with the people because every time I showed up I played hard, and I think people love that."

Carbonneau has had success at seemingly every level. As a player, he won three Stanley Cups (two with Montreal, one with Dallas), appeared in five Stanley Cup Finals and is second in NHL history with 231 playoff game appearances. This year as an assistant coach, he and the Canadiens pulled off a huge first-round upset against Boston before losing to Carolina in round two.

He's also one of only two people to have won the Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward three times. The other player to achieve that feat is the person whose role he will try and fill with the Stars.

In fact, Armstrong pointed directly and the impact four-time Selke Trophy winner Bob Gainey had on this organization while serving as head coach and, later, as general manager. He hopes Carbonneau can bring many of the same qualities as Gainey and, in turn, produce the same kind of success.

"One area I always thought separated our organization or gave our organization a boost was when Bob Gainey was active," Armstrong said. "He could relate to the players from a playing perspective and talk to them. That's something the group, before Guy's return, didn't have."

They do now. And hopefully, he'll be bringing his cape with him.