Coach Carbonneau

by Mark Stepneski for Andrew's Dallas Stars Page, 7/25/00

Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said recently that if he had to pick one player to let coach the team in his absence it would have been Guy Carbonneau.

"If we (the coaching staff) all were thrown out of a game last year, I would pick Carbonneau to run the team," Hitchcock told FoxSports.com.

So whom would he choose from this upcoming season's team?

"This year, I think I would split the duties up. I would give Derian (Hatcher) responsibility for the defense and maybe Newy (Joe Nieuwendyk) or (Mike) Keane the forwards. But Carbo could have handled everything on his own last year," Hitchcock told FoxSports.com.

In other words, Carbonneau's left some big shoes to fill. It would take three players to replace him behind the bench. Newly signed center Shaun Van Allen will soon find out how tough it will be to fill Carbonneau's skates on the ice.