Stars give deadline to Turco to sign on the dotted line. - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

jayC · 09-10-2003, 04:33 PM

Stars give Turco deadline
By Mac Engel
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FRISCO _ Dallas Stars general manager Doug Armstrong said Wednesday that if goalie Marty Turco has not come to terms by 8 p.m. Thursday that he will not make the trip with the National Hockey League team to training camp on Friday.

The team will meet for a players meeting Thursday at 8 p.m. They are scheduled to leave on Friday afternoon for Vail, Colo.

Currently Turco and the Stars are in negotiations for a new contract. Turco, who made $850,000 last season, is seeking a contract of around $4.5 million. The Stars appear willing to go no higher than $3.5 million.

Dooby · 09-10-2003, 04:46 PM

I'm a guy that generally takes the owners' side in these things. But clearly, the Stars are not offering Turko market value. They aren't offering a long term deal and they arguably aren't even offering market value for a one year deal. I understand the impending labor strife, but a solid NHL goaltender is still going to be making $4M a year regardless of what happens. Turko is entitled to a multi-year deal and I think it is shortsighted for the Stars not to offer it to him.

ames7 · 09-10-2003, 08:27 PM

I can see both sides of this. If he has another good yr, he'll get his next summer after the labor thing is resolved. The Stars know to lock up the cornerstones. So while I'd prefer they go ahead & give him the multiyr now, I can understand that they're weary of the Theodore factor. I'm just very, very nervous b/c the management doesn't seem to be budging about the 3.5 number they've offered. I get that the payroll's up again, but they're going to have to suck it up. If it has to be a one-yr deal, I think $4mil is fair.

Edit: Ooh, just kidding, Giguere just signed. 4 yr deal, $5mil a yr.

MavsFanatik33 · 09-10-2003, 08:49 PM

Something better happen because Tugnutt is no Turco, and Marty Turco is the man. SIGN THE CONTRACT TURCO!

MFFL · 09-11-2003, 12:06 AM

Posted on Sun, Sep. 07, 2003
Turco remains unsigned as camp approaches
By Mac Engel
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

FRISCO - The greatest single season by a goalie in the modern era comes with privileges, and now the price.

The Stars and Marty Turco have a difference in opinion in just how much.

Turco, who is coming off the best statistical season by a goalie since World War II, is unsigned with six days remaining until the Stars begin training camp in Vail, Colo.

NHL sources said Turco wants more than $4 million this season. The most the Stars want to offer hovers around $3.5 million. He made $850,000 last season.

"We are going to recognize Marty's achievements last year and give him a handsome raise," Stars general manager Doug Armstrong said. "The contract that we will or have offered Marty will represent someone who had a fantastic season."

Therein lies the hitch: "season," not "seasons."

Although Turco's numbers and impact last season are undeniable, the difference of opinion is headed in the direction of a holdout. And using recent history as an indicator, both teams have evidence to support their positions.

Turco declined arbitration, opting instead to negotiate in good faith. Had he filed for arbitration, an absolute decision would have been made by now. But he might have been forced to accept a salary less than he wanted.

Now, he negotiates for a bigger number.

In his first season as a No. 1 goalie, Turco posted a modern-day record 1.72 goals-against average to go along with his 30 victories, six shutouts and a .931 save percentage. He finished as a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the NHL's top goalie, and was the winning goalie for the Western Conference in the All-Star Game. In 18 games he missed late last season with a sprained ankle, the Stars went 7-6-3-2.

But the Stars fear the Jose Theodore syndrome.

After winning the Hart Trophy (MVP) and Vezina Trophy, and pushing the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens into the second round of the playoffs in 2001-02, Theodore signed a three-year, $16.5 million contract.

Theodore posted a mediocre 20-31-6 record with a 2.90 goals-against average last season, and his team failed to make the playoffs.

All the while, the Canadiens are married to the richest contract in franchise history. The Stars do not want to make that type of long-term financial commitment to a player who had one great year.

But they also want to avoid what happened to Evgeni Nabokov and the Sharks last season.

The Sharks' goalie held out all of training camp before signing five games into the season. His team, which the season before advanced to Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals, was desperate, having started 1-4 without him.

Nabokov got what he wanted in a two-year, $7.15 million contract, but, when he returned, he wasn't the same. He finished 19-28-8 with a 2.72 GAA and a .906 save percentage. The Sharks failed to make the playoffs.

"You look at some situations where players have withheld their services through camp, and whether it was the team's fault or the players' fault is irrelevant," Armstrong said. "They haven't had good years."

ames7 · 09-11-2003, 11:41 AM

Oh, hell no. Now both sides are just being stupid. This deal is reasonable, but if Army & Hicks are serious that this team can contend w/out Marty, they're crazy. Did they even WATCH that 20-game stretch last year w/Tugger in goal? It almost lost us the West. JUST SIGN THE F'ING DEAL, MARTY!!
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Stars beef up their offer; Turco brushes it away
$12 million over 3 years rejected; Hicks says it's team's final offer

02:46 AM CDT on Thursday, September 11, 2003

By RICHARD DURRETT / The Dallas Morning News

FRISCO – Stars general manager Doug Armstrong said Wednesday night that goaltender Marty Turco refused the Stars' latest contract offer, a deal worth $12 million over three years.

Owner Tom Hicks said it was the club's final offer, and Armstrong said the Stars are prepared to go without Turco to training camp, which begins officially with a team meeting at 8 p.m. Thursday. The season opener is Oct. 8.

"We feel as an organization we tried to step up, and he's going to go a different direction," Armstrong said. "We've made him an offer that goes above and beyond what he's accomplished. We're going to go to training camp with what we have, which I think is a strong team. The organization is deeper than one person.

"If it turns out that Marty was the sole key to the team, than I've underpaid for one and overpaid 22 others. It's unfortunate that Marty has chosen this path for his career, but so be it."

Turco's agent, Kurt Overhardt, declined to comment on specific numbers in the contracts but said he presented the Stars with alternative offers and was "going to continue to work to get a deal done."

Armstrong said he is content to go into training camp with Ron Tugnutt as the No. 1 goalie. He said he would look to see what other options were available in the next few weeks before making any decisions in regard to who starts the season in goal.

The sides had a meeting Wednesday afternoon in which the Stars presented their new offer. The three-year deal was a significant shift from the club's previous offer of a few days ago, which was a one-year deal worth approximately $3.5 million. At that time, Turco's side wanted a multi-year contract worth about $4.5 million per season.

"We think it's a stretch on our part, but it reflects our belief that Marty can be a great goaltender," Hicks said before Turco rejected Wednesday's offer. "The fact is, he's only done it one year, and you've got to prove yourself in the playoffs."

The sides met just moments after Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere agreed to terms on a four-year contract worth an average of nearly $5 million a season. Giguere won the Conn Smythe Trophy last season as playoff MVP and defeated Turco and the Stars in the second round.

"With Giguere signing, it was an affirmation of where we are in the marketplace," Overhardt said. "We feel Giguere's offer solidified our position. Marty still wants to be in camp."

Overhardt did not want to comment on what exactly he didn't like about the Stars' offer or how he thought Turco's salary should compare to Giguere's.

In Turco's first full season as the starting goaltender in Dallas, he was 31-10-10 with a 1.72 goals-against average, the NHL's lowest since World War II. Turco, who made $850,000 last season, was 6-6 in the playoffs with a 1.88 GAA. Even though Turco, 28, hasn't had a contract, he has skated with teammates almost every day the last two weeks.

Tugnutt, who was Turco's backup last season, said Tuesday that he was prepared to step in for Turco at training camp and beyond, if necessary.

"I know the importance of Marty signing, but I also know that negotiations aren't usually easy," said Tugnutt, who was 7-7-3 with a 2.59 GAA during the 17 games he started last season when Turco was out with an ankle injury. "I worked hard all summer, and I knew that this could be an issue, and I'm ready to take on whatever responsibility I need to."

Edit: Deadline is past, Turco is officially a holdout. I am so annoyed right now.