First a confession:
One of my favorite players - ever - was Brett Hull. I’ve known him from the moment he first arrived in the NHL and as a reporter, you admire (and tend to like) a guy that’s willing to speak his mind. One of the saddest days of my early life covering the league was when the Calgary Flames traded him in his second season to the St. Louis Blues. Hull went on to score a total of 741 NHL goals; the Flames received Rick Wamsley and Rob Ramage in exchange - it wasn't enough, given the impact Hull would eventually have on the league (and maybe could have had on a very good Flames' team that might have won more than just that 1989 Stanley Cup).
Today, after I filed my column, Hull called back on the way to the rink. His Dallas Stars – the team of which he is now co-interim GM, was playing the San Jose Sharks. Hull told me that his partner in crime, Les Jackson, would handle trade calls because he was vastly more experienced and Brett was still just trying to learn the ropes. We chatted about a number of different issues and then I asked him the question that some knowledgeable NHL people were asking today: How would Brett Hull the GM have handled the outspoken, larger-than-life Brett Hull as a player. His answer, word for word:
"You know what? That was the problem. Everyone tried to deal with him (Brett, speaking in the third person) instead of just letting him go out and play - or letting him be himself. If there was a Brett Hull out there right now, I would try to get him - because I know, he's passionate about the game and brings a dynamic into my room. I would find a coach that would put up with him. All you have to do is coach him. Simple. I'd love that. Guys like Mike Keane. I'd take a dressing room full of them. I love those guys. Someone gave me a good piece of advice the other day: I'd rather have a team that I had to rein in than a team I had to whip."
Good stuff.
Even if Jackson handles the day-to-day calls, I hope Hull communicates with Anaheim – and that he starts dropping in on NHL GMs meetings from this day forward. That way, we might not have to quote Brian Burke or Jim Rutherford every single day on every single issue – there’d be someone else to handle the answering load.
