Stars in Dallas Talk Langenbrunner Trade

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Written on 1/07/2011 by Jim Cerny

After playing parts of nine seasons in New Jersey, Jamie Langenbrunner is heading back to the team that drafted him in the second round of the 1993 draft, and with whom he won the first of his two Stanley Cups, the Dallas Stars.

With the Devils at the bottom of the NHL standings, and with Lou Lamoriello looking to cut payroll, Langenbrunner---New Jersey's captain since December 5, 2007---became the first of what likely will be several exiled Devils.

For the Devils side of this trade, including comments from Langenbrunner today, check in with Tom Gulitti's excellent Fire and Ice blog.

As luck would have it I am here in Dallas with the Rangers for tonight's game, so I was able to catch up with  several key people in the world of the Dallas Stars this morning over at the American Airlines Center.

Here's what the star player, team captain, and head coach of the Dallas Stars all had to say....

Brad Richards

"Jamie has won Stanley Cups in this league, so he'll be another voice in this room...another example of how hard it is to win"

"I am very excited. Anytime you can add a guy whose done what he has done, and has already been in this organization---plus is good friends with Joe (Nieuwendyk, the Stars GM and former teammate of Langenbrunner's in Dallas and New Jersey)---you know we'll get everything he's got, and he'll come in here with a great attitude. He's always been a hard player to play against, which I like. I think that's the direction we are headed---being a good, hard, resiliant team---and he adds to that. I'm very excited to see him in this lineup."

Brendan Morrow

"Personally, I know what he brings to the team: good leader, good work ethic, plays in all situations. I'm looking forward to him getting here."

"He adds a little bit of everything: a good shot on the power play, hard on pucks on the forecheck, been in some pretty good systems in Dallas and New Jersey. It's just overall good for us."

"I know how close those guys are (Langenbrunner and Nieuwendyk), so we've heard about Jamie coming back here for a few years now...he had some success here, so we'd like to help him have more of that here."

Marc Crawford

"It's a great addition to our club which makes us a better team. You've got a guy that's familiar with Dallas and familiar with a great many of our fan base, and on the other side he's a quality leader, a captain--not only on his own team but on the US Olympic team last year, and a guy with playoff experience. If you are talking about a shot in the arm, we've gotten a tremendous one here today. We couldn't be more pleased to have Jamie Langenbrunner on board."

"Any time you have guys that have been the distance and have had those playoff experiences, they're guys that can help younger guys that haven't been there. This team hasn't been in the playoffs in a couple of years and we're not taking anything for granted. We're in a dogfight like everybody else in both conferences. The addition of Jamie Langenbrunner gives us more depth on our team, another right shot which we haven't had very many, and that helps us. I think it shows Brad Richards and others on this team that Hey, the organization really believes in us."

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Langenbrunner Named Team USA Captain

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Written on 1/11/2010 by Jim Cerny


This isn't going to get much play in the press, certainly not when considering the fact that Mark McGwire just announced that---shocker!---he did take steroids during his Major League Baseball career, but USA Hockey announced today that Devils' captain Jamie Langenbrunner will serve as captain of the 2010 US Olympic Hockey Team in Vancouver.

Really this had not been a well-kept secret. Langenbrunner has been spilling the beans to the Devils beat writers himself.

But secret or not, this is a solid choice by the powers-to-be at USA Hockey, including team GM Brian Burke and head coach Ron Wilson.

Langenbrunner is one of the most underrated players---and captains---in the sport, though not to those who follow the game closely, and certainly not to anyone within the Devils organization. Hard-working, intense, respected, no-nonsense, honest, big-game player. Those are just a few of the adjectives that can be used about Langenbrunner.

He is also a two-time Stanley Cup winner---once in Dallas, and once in New Jersey. He is now a two-time Olympian. He is a four-time 20+ goal scorer, coming off a career-best 29 at the age of 34 a year ago. He led the all scorers with 11 goals and 18 points during the 2003 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Langenbrunner's resume is so impressive. Yet so few really appreciate his value.

Now he will have the opportunity to help shape the future of the US Olympic program by leading an extremely young squad in Vancouver that will be the core of future Team USAs---if the NHL continues to take part in the Winter Olympics. And I think he is the right man to captain this band of (mostly) youngsters.

Many believed when Chris Drury was selected to play for Teams USA in '10 that he would be the captain. And though I believe Langenbrunner is the correct choice as captain, what is Drury's true value to this team if he is not the captain? Drury's on-ice play has diminshed so that you can most definitely make the argument that others---even vets like Mike Modano or Bill Guerin---make more sense on this roster.

Drury's value to this team---as a three-time Olympian, captain of two NHL teams, and with one Stanley Cup ring---seems to be as a leader, the captain. But he is not even an alternate. Brian Rafalski, Ryan Suter, Dustin Brown, and Zach Parise landed those slots.

Burke said today on a conference call, "We know what Chris Drury can bring. He doesn't need a letter."

That is true, and Drury will still be a valuable member of the leadership core of Team USA in February. But in hockey, there is something special about wearing a letter. And if this is really Drury's value to the US Olympic Team, then him not wearing a letter stands out more than if he was not selected to play on the team.

After Rangers' practice this morning, Drury replied with a quick "No" when asked if it mattered to him if he would wear a letter with Team USA. But that's all he had to say about it. Hmmmm.

Nonetheless, none of that should take away from the announcement about Jamie Langenbrunner, a well-deserved honor for an understated, but perfect, choice as captain os the 2010 US Olympic Team.

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