Stars make changes to front office, tab Nieuwendyk as sole GM

The Dallas Stars named long-time NHL forward Joe Nieuwendyk as general manager on Sunday.

The 42-year-old Ontario native takes over for the two-man team of Brett Hull and Les Jackson, who shared GM duties since their hiring on November 13, 2007. Nieuwendyk will be formally introduced at a Monday press conference.

"We are very excited to secure Joe Nieuwendyk as the general manager," said team owner Tom Hicks. "These moves are all about helping this club take the proverbial 'next step.' Joe is a leader and has been a winner in everything he has done. He is ready for this opportunity and has a bright future. We want that future to be with the Dallas Stars."

Nieuwendyk, who played in Dallas from December, 1995 until March, 2002, racked up 564 goals and 1,126 points over 1,257 games with five teams over 20 seasons. The former second round pick of the Calgary Flames played collegiately at Cornell before making the leap to the pros with the Flames at the end of the 1986-87 season.

He won three Stanley Cups as a player, in 1989 with Calgary, 1999 as a member of the Stars and in 2003 with New Jersey. Upon retirement in the fall of 2006, Nieuwendyk served as special assistant to Florida Panthers general manager Jacques Martin. He also served in that capacity for the Toronto Maple Leafs last season.

"I am very excited about returning to the Dallas Stars as general manager," said Nieuwendyk. "I am ready for this opportunity. I have great memories from my playing days with the Stars and look forward to helping this team win."

The franchise is looking to recover from several missteps taken last season. After a trip to the Western Conference finals in which it fell to eventual Cup champion Detroit in 2008, Dallas tumbled to a 36-35-11 mark in 2008-09, and failed to secure a playoff berth for the first time since 2002.

In addition, the club had to deal with a major distraction in renowned pest Sean Avery, signed last off-season on Hull's suggestion to a five-year contract. After several on-ice incidents early in the season, Avery was eventually released by the club after an off-ice incident in December regarding derogatory comments about an ex-girlfriend and Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf.

Hull and Jackson will remain with the Stars, but in different capacities. Hull will now serve as executive vice president and alternate governor, and Jackson returns to his previous post as director of scouting and player development.