Your job being put on ice

The NHL has been idle during the lockout, but Stars goaltender Marty Turco has been anything but

September-October Turco hooked up with the mismanaged Original Stars Hockey League in Canada.

"I wasn't looking to make money; I just wanted to play hockey," says Turco, who had had offseason hip surgery and back trouble and wanted to get in some games.

The OSHL was a joke from the start and shut down quickly. Despite the mess, Turco had one "shining moment"--a game against the Canadian Navy. Afterward the teams spent four hours in the locker room, eating, drinking, talking hockey and recalling stories about the Canadian armed forces. "It was a Canadian hockey moment I'll never forget," Turco says.

After the league folded, he returned to Dallas and his wife, Kelly, and daughters Halley, then 2, and Katelyn, 6 months.

November Turco got a call from former teammate Ulf Dahlen, who asked if he wanted to play in Sweden. Less than a week later, Turco was on the ice for Djurgarden.

He impressed himself by mastering the Stockholm subway system and played well in six games. But Turco was not yet in top condition, and the grind took a physical toll.

December Turco returned to North America to get into shape for an NHL season that never came. He and his family spent the winter where Turco grew up, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. He cooked and cleaned; he skated with his brother-in-law and some buddies (with Turco playing forward, using a wooden stick, he proudly notes).

January Turco took Kelly on her first trip to New York.

February On the 16th, Turco and his friends came off the ice in Sault Ste. Marie and watched on TV as "my friend Gary" canceled the season. There were rampant rumors that the league would overturn the cancellation during the weekend, but it never happened.

"That was hairy," says Turco, who has taken over the Stars' union representative duties from retiring goalie Ron Tugnutt. "I was getting a lot of calls. I don't think anyone really knows what really happened those few days."

Turco then played in a 3-on-3 charity tournament. After that, he went snowmobiling with Joe Nieuwendyk, Kirk Muller and Mike Keane--three days of traveling at 100 mph in temperatures well below zero. "It was awesome," says Turco.

He ended the month with a players' association meeting in Toronto.

March The Turco family returned to Dallas, and Turco and Nieuwendyk started practicing together. They also began taking yoga classes. "I'm not getting any younger," says Turco, who will turn 30 in August. "I need to keep up my flexibility."

Most of the winter, he simply was a dad--something that wasn't always so simple, particularly during four days alone with his daughters while his wife went skiing. "I didn't even ask my mother to come help me," he says with a laugh.

April Turco was invited to Detroit for the general managers meetings. There was a goaltender equipment seminar one day, then some players stayed for the meetings and to discuss the state of the game on the ice. Turco found all the talk interesting but left "knowing why nothing can get done" with so many teams and different agendas.

Soon after that eye-opener, it was off to the Ice Hockey World Championship in Austria as Team Canada's No. 3 goalie. He didn't get any playing time, but Turco didn't care because he was getting the chance to represent his country.

May When the tournament ended, Turco and his wife spent a week in Italy. Then it was back to the U.S. for another players' association meeting. Soon, it'll be time to start training seriously again.

"Everyone is training like they'll be playing in the best league in the world next season," says Turco. "And if we're not, we'll be playing somewhere."

COPYRIGHT 2005 Sporting News Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning