When the lockout ended and the Dallas Stars began streaming into their practice facility, Jason Arnott appeared ready to play, looking as if he had spent most of his time off in the weight room.
But the bulked-up big man seemed to disappear as the Stars struggled early. He admits now that he and linemates Brenden Morrow and Bill Guerin had trouble coming together after such a long time apart.
“It takes time,” Arnott said. “Realistically, we played for a half a season [in 2003-04]. We clicked because we were half a season in and everybody had their hands and was ready to go. It takes a little bit of skating time and game shape to get back into the groove of things.”
When the 6-foot-4-inch, 220-pound center started making himself conspicuous on the ice again, the Stars started winning. It was not a coincidence.
Arnott scored two goals in the first 12 games as the Stars went 6-5-1 but has scored eight in the last 12 as they went 10-2-0-0. Arnott’s good fortune has rubbed off on the rest of the team.
“The better player he is, the better team we are,” coach Dave Tippett said. “Their line is finding a groove, but I really think Arnie is the catalyst for that. He’s the guy that controls the puck the most. He’s the guy that makes things happen.”
Arnott, who is in the final year of his contract, often languishes in the shadow of his own potential. His best season, statistically, was his 33-goal, 35-assist rookie season with Edmonton in 1993-94. His most memorable moment was a Stanley Cup-winning goal with New Jersey, when he beat the Stars in Game 6 in 2000.
“You always put it on yourself that you want to be better and you want to live up to your own expectations,” Arnott said. “If you can do that, then you can be satisfied.”
Early in the season, Arnott, 31, wasn’t meeting his standards. He had been hitting the weights throughout the work stoppage, and it showed in his physique. But after he collected four points in the season opener, he managed only one goal and two assists in the next eight games. During a stretch in which the Stars lost five of seven games, Arnott had one goal.
The Stars’ fortunes turned around beginning with a 9-1 victory over the Blackhawks, and so did Arnott’s. It’s almost a chicken-or-egg question to determine which came first, but Arnott had two goals and an assist against the Hawks and has added 12 points in 11 games since.
Arnott is on pace for career highs in goals (35, topping 33 in 1993-94), assists (49, topping 38 ’96-97) and points (84, topping 68 in ’93-84).
This season also shows that a player could stay in shape during the lockout and still come back missing some skills.
“It feels different now,” Arnott said. “Just handling the puck–at the beginning of the season we were `hot-potatoing’ it too much, we weren’t hanging on to it, especially me. … The vision took a little while to come back.”