The only thing the Dallas Stars and Ottawa Senators have in common is their first-place standing in their respective conferences.

The Stars, with a payroll just over $60 million, have been put together with draft picks, free agents and trades. The Senators, who spend less than half the Stars do on payroll, have built from within. So how'd they achieve the same results? And will they both be in first place when it really counts -- at the end of the season?

 

Dallas Stars		Ottawa Sentors
Bill Guerin leads the Stars in goals and penalty minutes.		Marian Hossa is tied for the league lead with 33 goals.
Who are they?
The Dallas Stars, under the ownership of Tom Hicks, have become a team that wants to win the Stanley Cup every year. That might sound simplistic, but every member of the organization believes that hoisting the Cup should be the ultimate -- and realistic -- goal of each season. While many changes have taken place in the past year, the Stars are still, at their heart, a team built by Bob Gainey and consisting of a strong core of drafted players. They also are a team built by Gainey from the back forward. As such, the heart of the team consists of Marty Turco, Derian Hatcher, Richard Matvichuk, Mike Modano, Jere Lehtinen, Brenden Morrow and Niko Kapanen. The next group is the "acquired in trade" category of Sergei Zubov, Darryl Sydor, Jason Arnott, Kirk Muller, Stephane Robidas, Ron Tugnutt, Claude Lemieux and Manny Malhotra -- players that required an asset to be acquired. And the last group consists of the free agents, the players the Stars were able to get simply because they had more money than any other team interested. That group includes: Bill Guerin, Pierre Turgeon, Scott Young, Philippe Boucher, Ulf Dahlen, Aaron Downey and Rob DiMaio. Some would say that's what makes the Stars what they are, but those inside the team like to think it takes all three categories.		The Ottawa Senators have been in the headlines lately for pretty much all the wrong reasons. As bankrupt as they may be off the ice, the Senators have an embarrassment of riches on it. They have become the NHL's model franchise -- an example of a team which has built through the draft, done a marvelous job of developing its own players, spurned high-priced free agents (they couldn't afford them anyway), made more than its share of team-improving trades to climb to top spot in the NHL and done it all with one of the lowest payrolls in the league. The Senators have just about the best drafting record in the NHL over the last few years. The core of the team was acquired through the draft (13 players on the current roster are Senators draft picks). Defensemen Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov, wingers Marian Hossa and Martin Havlat and center Radek Bonk are all first-round picks. In addition, the Senators traded Alexei Yashin, another first rounder, to the New York Islanders for defenseman Zdeno Chara, who has emerged as a top defenseman for the club. In that deal they also acquired the second pick overall in the 2001 draft which they used to select Jason Spezza, who is on the cusp of becoming a regular with the club. They used the top pick in the 1995 draft to select Bryan Berard and traded him to the Islanders for defenseman Wade Redden, who, along with Chara, are now the club's top two defensemen. The Senators also have been a patient franchise. They stuck with coach Jacques Martin despite losing three straight years in the first round of the playoffs. He has shown he can develop the young talent.
How did they get to No. 1?
Those inside would stress the depth aspect, but it's clear the reason the Stars are now No.1 is because GM Doug Armstrong has done an incredible job of restructuring the team in the span of 12 months. Armstrong loves Gainey's core, but he also likes to do things his own way. So he added speed, size and youth and added a coach that loves to try to use those talents in an aggressive manner. In his short tenure, Armstrong has added by trade or free agency: Guerin (6-foot-2, 210 pounds), Arnott (6-4, 220), Boucher (6-3, 221), Young (6-1, 200), Lemieux (6-2, 227), Malhotra (6-2, 215), Downey (6-1, 216) and Dahlen (6-3, 204). The Stars are now a big, physical team with decent speed. Armstrong also took a chance on NHL rookie coach Dave Tippett because the former player likes to coach an aggressive style. Both new and old players have responded well and the team has quickly bonded into one happy group. That's a near miracle after last season's locker room problems. And last, but maybe most important, Armstrong and his staff anointed Marty Turco the No. 1 goalie and provided a solid support system in Tugnutt as a solid partner and Andy Moog as a full-time goalie coach. Maybe Turco would have done it on his own, but the help sure hasn't hurt.		In a word, speed. The Senators are one of the quickest teams in the league from the blue line out. Havlat, Hossa, Petr Schastlivy, Daniel Alfredsson, Todd White, Peter Schaefer, Magnus Arvedson ... they all have good to great speed. The Senators use that speed to keep a lot of pressure on the puck. They are the masters of creating turnovers and then launching counterattacks. Their top four defensemen -- Redden, Chara, Phillips and Karel Rachunek -- are all good skaters and good puck movers. Those tape-to-tape first passes allow the forwards to churn through the neutral zone with speed. The Senators are one of the best-coached teams in the league. They wear teams out with their puck pressure and their patience. They don't take unnecessary chances and are very disciplined on defense. When they do make mistakes, they can rely on Patrick Lalime who has developed into one of the league's elite goaltenders. They are loaded offensively. Hossa has developed into a first-class sniper and Havlat is growing into one of the league's most dangerous danglers. Alfredsson is a tireless worker and one of the league's best all-round forwards. Todd White and Radek Bonk are solid centers who aren't stars, but have no glaring weaknesses, either. Schastlivy is an up-and-coming scorer. The Senators are also capable of playing some of the best defensive hockey in the league, as well. The towering Chara is the kind of stalwart every elite team needs.
How can they stay at No. 1?
Two words: talent and money. The Stars believe they have accumulated an immense amount of NHL skill, and it's difficult to argue with the numbers. Modano is a perennial 80-point guy. Zubov is among the top five scoring defensemen over the past five seasons. Turgeon tallied 82 points just two seasons ago. Young scored 40 goals two seasons ago. Guerin has hit 40 goals in back-to-back seasons. Arnott can be counted up for 20-plus goals in the worst of circumstances. Whether or not they'll hit those numbers this season is a moot point, as far as the Stars are concerned. The key is these players have talent and the team shouldn't have to rely on one player or one line to carry the team. When it is completely healthy, the Stars play Morrow and Lehtinen on the third line -- and that's saying something. On the downside, Dallas has handed out no-trade guarantees to too many players, and is on the hook for big raises in the future (Turgeon will make $7.5 million next season). It already has $55 million committed to 14 players next season and still has to re-sign Hatcher (unrestricted), Turco (restricted) and Matvichuk (restricted). Let's just say Dallas will struggle with any kind of salary cap or luxury tax in the future.		The Senators could use a little more grit, though their talented players have shown more of an ability to stand up for themselves. Alfredsson is one of the most physical of the talented players in the league. Hossa can give and take along the wall with anybody. Havlat has shown a bit of a mean streak at times. But the Senators don't have a real impressive physical presence. Center Mike Fisher is an in-your-face type of player, but his effectiveness has been reduced by injuries. Winger Chris Neil will go with anybody and has shown he can also contribute offensively, but he is not a legitimate heavyweight. Chara gives the Senators some jam on the blue line, but he has developed into a player you want on the ice against the other team's top players, not in the penalty box because he's been running around playing the tough guy's role. The Senators' offensive depth puts them in a position where they can often overcome a slump by one of their top players and they have always shown a willingness to work on defense, so it is hard to see this team falling into any kind of prolonged funk.
Playoff possibilities?
Being around Gainey, Armstrong understands how different the playoffs are compared to the regular season. That's one reason he has kept players like Guy Carbonneau and Craig Ludwig around as consultants. It's also why he built a team with plenty of playoff experience. Guerin, Arnott and Young already have won Stanley Cups. Turgeon has been a point-a-game guy during his last three runs through the postseason. The majority of the Stars' core players have participated in 70 or more playoff games over the past five seasons. And the addition of Lemieux adds a gritty, nasty edge that might be necessary in the West. The economic situation means the Stars are pretty much out on any talks concerning Alexei Kovalev, Teppo Numminen or any other high-price rental -- and that's concerning, especially if Colorardo, St. Louis or Detroit end up with those players. But Stars management believes it has constructed a good team and is trying to build the chemistry now that will carry the team in the playoffs. If Turco can handle the pressure, and everyone inside the organization believes he can, the Stars could challenge for the Cup … just like they planned it.		A lot of people might think the Senators' biggest enemy is the arch-rival Toronto Maple Leafs, who have knocked the Senators out of the playoffs the last three years. The Senators biggest enemy might just be themselves. They cannot count on battled-hardened veterans in the playoffs since that type of player usually comes at a high price and the Senators do not have the ability, either financially or by parting with young, cheap talent, to acquire players like that. How far they go in the playoffs depends on the development of players like Hossa, Havlat, Fisher, Redden, Phillips and Chara. They took a big step last spring with their complete domination of the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round. What the Senators need to do is start believing in themselves. They must recognize the fact they are a talented team that can compete with any club in the league. Getting that realization in their heads might be their biggest challenge. It's not likely the Senators will do anything major at the trade deadline because that simply hasn't been their style in the past. They cannot afford to give up prospects in a rent-a-player situation because they depend on feeding their system with those young players. How far they go in the playoffs this year will depend on how much they grow from within. This is a team that could get on a roll in the playoffs. If the confidence grows, it is a team that could win it all. Unfortunately for Senators fans, given the uncertainty over the club's future, the Stanley Cup parade could hit the city limits and just keep going out of town.
Mike Heika covers the NHL for the Dallas Morning News.		Chris Stevenson covers the NHL for the Ottawa Sun.