So a Few Things Stood Out During the Nieuwendyk Press Conference

One was the subtle jab at Bryan Marchment from Tom Hicks. I don't blame San Jose fans for holding Mush in high regard. He was one of their's just as Steve Ott is one of our's.

From my viewpoint, he's still a dirty MF'er.

The other?

This.

"I don't see it as a way of building," Nieuwendyk said. "What normally happens is you end up overspending on Day 1. And I think a lot of teams have fallen into that over the years. With all due respect, our team was one of them. You have to be careful."

Especially in a salary cap era. And especially when it appears that cap is going to go down the next two years.

I've always believed that you build your team by good drafting and getting key pieces by 'buying low' if you have to buy. And you need look no further than the Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers as proof that freely spending in free agency doesn't guarantee anything.

Luckily, I got through that sentence without chortling over the Ryan Smyth signing by the Avs and the Chris Drury signing in New York. Sorry for bringing that up, Derek.

Anyway, good drafting ensures you stay competitive year in and year out. And as much as I hate to do this, the Detroit Red Wings serve as the gold standard for drafting and developing their own players.

Not to say the Stars have completely sucked at drafting. Afterall, they've hit on Loui Eriksson, Brenden Morrow, Steve Ott, James Neal, and Nik Grossman. But they've also missed on Tyler Bouck, Jason Bacashihua, Yared Hagos, Michael Ryan, and Johan Fransson, who was selected with the 32nd overall selection in the 2004 draft out of the Swedish Elite League.

Or 65 spots ahead of Johan Franzen. If only they hadn't have messed up the spelling on the last name when they submitted their draft card to the league office.