I'm Not Gonna Get Sucked In By The Stars Offseason 

Tom Hicks said he won't spent wild money on his baseball team anymore. Hicks is spending wild on his hockey team this summer. I have hope the hockey team will be better than the baseball team. But can you count on that? I mean the Stars had a high payroll last year and missed the playoffs.

I could ask the question. Which Rangers were the Stars trying to be last season? The Texas Rangers or the New York Rangers. You know, both organizations spent big money, ran off coaches, and grabbed a remote at the end of the year to watch Detroit win the Stanley Cup for third time in the last six years.

Fans should be happy that the best free agent hockey player on the market signed a 45 million dollar contract over five years. I think winger Bill Guerin is a fantastic hockey player. The Stars got better the moment he accepted the offer to play in Dallas. The signing of defenseman Philippe Boucher is a plus.

Call me a sourpuss. I don't see a reason to get giddy. Not when look at the big spending the New York Rangers have done the last few years. Eric Lindross, Theo Fluery, Mark Messier, Pavel Bure, Matthew Barnaby....you see the big name contracts and I don't see any trips to the playoffs.

Point to Detroit's great run last season and I'll tell you the key piece was goalie Dominik Hasek and the eight million dollars owner Mike Ilitch was willing to give him. Marty Turco has yet to start a full season as the top goalie in Dallas. If you are new to the hockey game, the dude in the pipes determines who takes home the Cup.

So when the Stars get strong in the net get your hopes up. Until then, don't get your hopes up.