Doug Armstrong Quotations

We are pleased to sign Philippe Boucher to a new contract that will keep him with the Dallas Stars for the next three seasons. Philippe has been a consistent performer for our hockey club and we are looking forward to his next three years with our organization.

When he first went down, it didn't look good. So a crisis averted, I guess.

When he first went down, it didn't look good. And he was so close to the bench that he didn't have to get up to get off the ice, so I wasn't sure what happened. But I talked to the trainer between periods and he thought it would be good and then I saw Mike after and he was all smiles with the team winning the division. So a crisis averted, I guess.

Philippe has been a consistent performer for our hockey club, and we are looking forward to the next three years with our organization.

One of the misconceptions out there was that the teams you mentioned were only good because of money. Maybe it was an excuse used by other people why they weren't winning. But we're not looking to use the CBA as an excuse moving forward. Our job as management is to win, whether it's pre- or post-'05.

He doesn't shortchange the coach or his teammates on any of his shifts. He's a character player and a big part of this organization. This deal, we believe, is simply one step toward a long-term contract with Brenden.

We're pleased to have reached an agreement with Brenden for the next two seasons. He's a valuable part of this club's future and we expect he will continue to anchor our young core of players. We're very excited to have him in the fold.

We looked at Marty and felt Marty had the ability to be a championship goalie. He's going to have to go through all sorts.

We made the plays when we had to.

He knows we like him. He's been here for a number of years, and I've tried to express to him that I've been one of his stronger supporters over that time. Nothing to me has changed. When the time comes and he wants to stay here, we'll talk to him.

John has a great deal of hockey experience and success on his resume, and he will help us immensely in our evaluation of pro prospects.

I think we're a little bit like the Atlanta Braves.

Jeremy brings a physical dimension to our hockey club and will fit in nicely with our team. He is a gritty player that has some valuable NHL experience, both in the regular season and the playoffs, and we are happy to have him.

Janne is a veteran player who will help upgrade the depth of our defensive corps. He has a great deal of experience at the NHL level and has proven he can play at a high level in this league.

My belief was that I had to put my stake in the ground and build the team around one player. It's not that one player can win or lose for us, but if you have to put a statement. And Marty is my statement player.

Willie is a veteran player who upgrades the depth of our defensive corps. He plays a solid defensive game and will be a good fit for our hockey club as we prepare for the 2006 playoffs and a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup.

We realize the Class AA bracket is loaded with a lot of talented teams. Class AA may be the toughest division in the state tournament this year.

We don't have the time to have a 30- or 35-man camp here because of exhibition games. We want to start building a team here, and to do that you have to have the players that will be a part of it around. We're going to let it play out up in Dallas.

There is a comfort level there. We had early success with Jere Lehtinen , so we have gone back to that well.

We knew that Dave had that reputation of taking first-year teams and getting the most out of them. I think he's done that with our group. I think he's shown firm leadership and strong leadership for the younger players, making sure that they learn the game and play the correct way.

We're not looking to trade an apple for an apple. If we're looking to do anything, it would be to trade a little of the future for today.

There are a lot of things we don't know. But the great thing is, we're about to find out.

The reason we gave this coaching staff the contracts we did is because we believe in them over the long-term.

To me he's been our leader on and off the ice this year and it's really a pleasure just to watch a guy get some rewards for it.

This new contract practically ensures that Mike will retire a Dallas Star and we are thrilled that he will be back with us.

Blake really played well. He shot it so well today.

Beau really made some big plays late. He got inside and got 12 rebounds and he made the key free throws down the stretch.

That shot really gave us a boost going into halftime.

You're going to have situations like this in long-term relationships. Everyone has to do things to get to a point of being very comfortable. I think he reached that point and realized the grass isn't always greener. He had to make some sacrifices financially to make this happen and to his credit he did.

It's a risk, but it's one we feel good about. A lot of the rule changes will affect defensemen, and we want a group of defensemen who can move the puck.

It's a footnote of history. But we're not going to dwell on it, and I'm sure we're not going to look at any game tapes of what happened two years ago.

It's not how you start, it's how you finish, I guess. It's a great day.

It's going to be a coming out party for so much of our future. Really, it'll almost be like a launching pad for the new NHL.

Dave has done an outstanding job as head coach of this club and we expect that to continue for years to come.

I want to see the correct focus and the correct attitude, not just from the players, but the entire organization of the importance of the season. Last year, we rebounded and had a very good regular season and our expectations were high, and we didn't meet those expectations in the playoffs. I think rather than running from that, we need to meet those expectations head-on.

That's a lifetime of practicing that shot that finally paid off. We needed that boost. We needed anything.

If you have two guys who are battling hard, who are in an emotional game and who drop the gloves, to me that's a 'hockey fight,' and I have no problem with that. But if you have two guys who go out on the ice looking for someone to fight, and it has little to do with the game, there's really no reason for that.

I just think the reality of not ending his career in Dallas, putting on a different jersey, wasn't appealing to him.

In this new system, the star players have to be star players. If they aren't, you are probably not going to be successful.

He's just a difference maker. He's just a kid that intimidates everyone else on the court. You can't beat him one-on-one, and you can't just let him go to work on you.

Honestly, that was having trust in an athlete and an individual and acting on that trust. That was a move for the long term, not for this year.

I don't see any glaring weaknesses. There are obviously areas where you'd like to get better.

These guys are going to have the opportunity to compete up until the last second. We have historical background of who we think will be there, but every training camp there is always one player who exceeds expectations and a couple players won't live up to expectations.