Had a chance to catch up with Dallas Stars captain Brenden Morrow when they were in LA this week. He shared some very interesting thoughts…
– On when the trade deadline starts to become a thought given they are a bubble team:
“We’ve been there for the last five years I think. I think each individual is a little bit different. There’s different situations. How your contracts are structured, or no trades. I can answer it for me personally. I think about it…My name a lot. In the rumor mill. So the easiest time is when you’re playing the 60 minutes. It’s the last thing on your mind, but when the game is over; it creeps in. You wonder what’s going to happen, but at the end of the day, that’s not where you can control. I’m lucky. I have a no trade, so I can decide what I want to do, but you’d like to win hockey games and set yourself up, and make it hard on management to make that move. We’d like to be the buyers, not the sellers.”
– On what his personal process would be on deciding to be traded:
“Take it each day at a time, because I’ve never been through it and I don’t know. I’d like to just get this team into position where we’re gonna make the playoffs. It’s not even gonna be a question, and I’d love for Joe to come to me and say they want to extend me. That’s the way I’m looking at it right now, but if he comes to me, and he has other plans in mind…He sees a fit somewhere else. I’ll see if it makes sense to me, and we’ll go from there.”
– On if they say they’ll talk about extending him in the summer being the worst situation of all:
“Not really. Either way, the biggest thing for me is I just want to win. I want to have a Cup when I’m done playing, and I’d love for it to be in Dallas. But if management thinks that they want to go in a different direction, and I’m involved in it, and the situation seems to be good for me, a good fit; I’ll see if I can help them out. But if it’s not then I’ll stick it out.”
– On if he’s made up his mind and is willing to go:
“Well, kinda sounds to me like they don’t have plans for me in the future.”
– On if that hurts given he’s their captain:
“I’ve seen it in the past. Franchise guys. Modano. People move on, situations change, new ownership…Things change. I’ve seen it with Hull, Modano, Turko. I mean it happens to stars. Talking about Iggy in Calgary, and whose a bigger face of a franchise than that? So I’m a realist. I know what happens. Kind of sucks when it’s you, but it’s a business.”
– On if watching other guys go through it hardened him:
“I suppose, yes. I mean, I haven’t been traded. I was with the Portland Winterhawks for four years. I’ve been in Dallas for 13. So I’ve never been through it. I don’t want to think what-ifs. It creeps into my mind. I’m trying to kick it out. I don’t want to think about that right now, because I keep putting on this Stars jersey, and that’s where I want my focus to be at the time.”
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