Well, it’s being reported this morning by a number of national outlets that Joe Nieuwendyk has said publicly that the Dallas Stars will not be re-signing Marty Turco.
So if for some reason you were waiting for a formal announcement, there you go. Otherwise, February 9th was probably the day this decision was made in your eyes.
Here is the AP release:
DALLAS (AP) — Goaltender Marty Turco’s time with the Dallas Stars is over.
General manager Joe Nieuwendyk says the Stars will not re-sign Turco, who just completed his ninth season with the team. Nieuwendyk said Tuesday that he felt it was time to go “in a different direction.”
Kari Lehtonen, acquired from Atlanta in February, will go into next season as the team’s top goaltender.
The 34-year-old Turco just completed a $22.8 million, four-year contract he signed in January 2006 that kept him from becoming a free agent at the end of that season.
In 509 regular season games for Dallas, Turco won 262 games with a .911 save percentage and 2.31 goals-against average. He appeared in 47 playoff games.
We say sorry to you, Marty Turco. In a different time, with a different owner and a lot more cash, maybe a tandem system could have worked. Or maybe management would have felt the need to make a clean break either way, and move on.
The divisive goaltender spent years trying to answer questions about early exits from the playoffs, even while setting franchise records in the process. He finally answered his playoff critics, shutting the Canucks out three times in the first round in 2007, then brilliantly backstopping them to Game 6 of the 2008 WCF against Detroit, only to lose defensive veterans Zubov, Norstrum and Boucher the following season. Those losses, coupled with a new crop of young defensemen greatly changed Turco’s circumstances, inducing a two year slide that led to the Kari Lethonen trade, and Marty’s official exit today.
We wish him luck wherever he lands. (Hopefully somewhere out East.)
“I want to thank Marty for 10 years of service here,” Nieuwendyk said. “He’s a friend, he’s been a terrific competitor and a fan favorite. He has a lot to be proud of.”