How many more games will we see Marty Turco between the pipes in a Stars sweater? It might be early to start asking that question, but this blog is dedicated to whatever I'm thinking about... and our goaltending is what I'm thinking about tonight.

The Stars beat the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday afternoon, largely in part to the play of Alex Auld between the 1st intermission and the end of the shootout. He was fantastic when he needed to be, and his confidence and swagger resonated from the net out. Following the game, Marc Crawford went as far as to announce that Auld would be getting his second consecutive start on Monday night against the Minnesota Wild. Couple that with the interview with Joe Nieuwendyk during the intermission against Detroit, and you have to wonder just where Marty stands with this team going forward. Ralph started off with a few softball questions for Nieuwy, who answered with fairly generic answers. General pride in our youth and development, being relatively content with the first half, and understanding that a young roster can be plagued by inconsistency. Nothing ground breaking. When Ralph asked about Joe's biggest gripe about this team so far, he could have deflected and given out a feel-good answer about how he's proud of the team and that we're still a work in progress. He didn't. He came right out and addressed the big gold-padded elephant in the room and singled out the goaltending.

Under certain circumstances, having your starting goalie called out by management could be considered a wake-up call or a motivator. A calculated move by the higher-ups to improve Turco's play... but deep down, I think the Stars are exhausted of having to do that. How many times over the years have we sat Turco so he could "work with Moog" on his technique? He always came back better for it, until he sunk back into his bad habits and was sat down again. With his contract being what it is, and the Stars being the team they are, I think this is the last time. The real questions come this summer, though. After supplying the league with goalies for years (Turek, Fernandez, Smith, Ellis, the list goes on for ages), our well has run dry. Is Auld a long-term member of this team? If so, in what capacity? 1A-1B? Stop-gap starter? Back-up to a new veteran? Back-up to a green young project? It's almost useless to speculate, because there are so many different directions the Stars can go if-and-when they cut ties with Marty Turco this summer (or sooner).

Pierre LeBrun of ESPN touched on it in his article this week. He mentions Halak and Lehtonen as possible targets. Others have mentioned Josh Harding or Cory Schneider. There are a million directions we can take, and it boils down to the vision Joey has for this team, and where he thinks we stand as an organization. He can start the rebuild, or he can plug the holes. That's the part I'm most interested in... the future is approaching faster than most of us realize, and the first shots should be fired at the trade deadline this season. We won't know until summer time what the Stars plan in net is going to be, but one thing seems apparent... Marty Turco probably isn't going to be a part of it.

Stay tuned, folks. It's time to see what General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk is made of.

Comments (2)

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written by Craig Ramm, January 20, 2010

I'll just speak about the two goaltenders that I know about from the ones you listed in your article.

Alex Auld...I think at best, he would be a short-term solution for the starter's role, but he's more suited for the backup role. In the four years I saw him suit up for the Manitoba Moose, I wasn't overly impressed by him. I mean, he was good in stretches, but never consistently. I don't know if this has gotten better since then, but he gave up a lot of five-hole goals and also seemed good for a weak goal every couple of games back then.

The mere fact he was outplayed by such goaltending luminaries as Tyler Moss and Wade Flaherty (the latter of whom was pushing 40 by that point) made me shake my head. I would include Alfie Michaud and Martin Brochu on that list (and don't even get me started on how I feel about Brochu), but that was his rookie season.

As for Cory Schneider...first off, nice photo you used for him. I guess it works, given the fact that they're both redheads from Massachusetts.

Secondly...I feel that he's the real deal. He started off the first couple of months of his pro hockey career pretty bad, but once he found his groove, he's been quite awesome. I'll say right now that if not for Schneider, the Moose likely would not have made the Calder Cup Final last season, and Manitoba would not have as good a record as they do right now (23-17-4-1).

I won't say that Schneider will become a goaltender on the level of a Luongo or Brodeur, but I feel that he'll be a long-term NHL starter. He just needs someone to give him the opportunity. I would love to see him become the starter in Vancouver, but some guy named Roberto seems to have a lock on that position for years to come.

By the way, in the event the Stars do get him, you can't have him until after February 5th! That night is Cory Schneider Bobblehead Night at the MTS Centre (complete with promotional video), and it'd be nice to have him in attendance as the home goaltender. By the way, if you're wondering why former Dallas Star Mike Keane's in the video, the Moose gave away Mike Keane bobbleheads last season (with its own promotional video).

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written by Craig Ramm, January 20, 2010

Whoops, the video links didn't come through. Guess I'll give it another shot.

Cory Schneider Bobblehead Night

http://www.moosehockey.com/moosetv.php?video=602

Mike Keane Bobblehead Night

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZkyCWNRLKY

Should work this time.

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