Brett Hull danced across the ice at the Dallas Stars' training facility on Wednesday morning like Michael Jackson in Motown. First he dangled at the point, then he headed for the net, darting through a crowd, taking the puck from stick to skate and back to stick again. He zipped behind the net and popped out on the other side looking for a pass into the slot, eyeing a teammate who might have moved into perfect position. And even when the play didn't work out just right, his face glowed with that trademark smile.

	Brett Hull, center, has a better chance of repeating as a Cup champion in Detroit.

And maybe that's the biggest reason the Detroit Red Wings might have pulled off one of the biggest coups of the free-agent season by inking Hull to a two-year deal for $9 million on Wednesday. Because Hull still works magic with the puck, he still has a love for the game, he still has a desire to win.

No, he's not your head-down, grimacing warrior, but Brett Hull has an understanding of things. And that understanding makes him one of the most intelligent -- and dangerous -- players in the NHL. Hull skated Wednesday morning with old teammates Mike Modano, Kirk Muller, Derian Hatcher and Sergei Zubov -- even though he knew he had already signed on to play against one of their most hated rivals. That's because Hull doesn't play the game like most players, full of bile, he plays it with his head. So it was just another fun day of shinny Wednesday morning, a press conference in Detroit on Thursday and back to shinny in Dallas until the U.S. Olympic Training Camp on Sept. 4.

He had handled the proceedings so diplomatically, even his old teammates were happy for him.

"I think it's great for him," Modano said. "Of the teams he was talking to, I think he'll have the most fun there. They've got some great play-makers and he's going to get a chance to play with some fantastic players."

To Hull, it was a business decision that led him to the Red Wings -- a decision in which a team decided he was a good fit for them and he decided the same thing. And when Hull puts his mind to proving things, he can be pretty darn productive.

It was the same kind of decision that led Hull to the Stars in the first place. When St. Louis decided not to re-sign the winger in 1998, Hull mulled several options. He decided on Dallas because the Stars were a well-run organization that gave him a chance to win and could make the best use of his talents. Despite the fact the Stars were a low-scoring team that stressed defense first, Hull rarely argued during his first season in Dallas. He knew that the organization had a plan, he knew that it had a hunger to win and he knew that a Stanley Cup could be at stake.

So he tried out on the left wing, he tried out on a line with Joe Nieuwendyk, he tried out on the second power play, waiting patiently (for the most part) for things to fit together. And when it was all over and Hull sat atop a locker in Buffalo with a cigar in his mouth staring wistfully at his dad's name on the Stanley Cup, he knew it was all worth it.

Of course, in the intervening years, Hull's patience with the defense-first system was tested. When he scored 24 goals and was a minus-21 in 1999-2000, Hull began to complain. When the team started to fall apart early last season, Hull grumbled. And at times like that, he wasn't the perfect fit for the Stars.

Despite his 39 goals in the regular season (or maybe because of them), Hull became too easily frustrated in the playoffs. When Edmonton threw all of its focus at Hull in the first round, the Stars struggled. When St. Louis put a bullseye on him throughout the second round, the Stars crumbled. Hull was frustrated, the Stars were frustrated and the patience on both sides started to wear a little.

But with a new start in Detroit comes new patience for Hull. He has such immense respect for Steve Yzerman and Chris Chelios and Scotty Bowman, and he will show that respect just as he showed his respect to Bob Gainey and Mike Modano and Guy Carbonneau in Dallas. Might get cross with Bowman or his new teammates at some time? Sure. Might he find a reason to complain every now and then? Most certainly.

In fact, one of the real concerns in Detroit is what will happen if the scoring isn't balanced enough to keep everyone happy -- because goals are like oxygen to Hull, he has to have them. If he finds himself struggling offensively, he will feel smothered. The same can probably be said for Brendan Shanahan and Luc Robitaille and Sergei Fedorov.

But Hull's level of patience will be much deeper in Detroit than it would have been in Dallas...or New York...or Montreal...or Vancouver. The Red Wings play a more creative game than the Stars, which will make Brett Hull happy. The Red Wings are more competitive than the Rangers or Canadiens or Canucks, which will make Brett Hull happy. The Red Wings have assembled a cast of characters who have proven themselves in the NHL -- a cast that seems intent on making a concerted run at the Stanley Cup in the next two seasons.

And that will make Brett Hull very happy.

Brett Hull is smart. He knows hockey, he knows the NHL, he knows how to win and he knows how to get along. And that means that the combination of the Brett Hull in Detroit might well be the best thing that could have happened this year to either Brett Hull or Detroit. Because if Hull begins flashing that trademark smile the way he did Wednesday, if he starts playing with the zest he showed in 1999, the rest of the West -- and the NHL -- could well be in trouble.

Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.