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FRISCO – On his way out the Stars' side door after 17 years, Doug Armstrong didn't miss anyone in his gracious exit interview.

He thanked staff and bosses and players and coaches and sportswriters and cameramen and pretty much anyone who wandered through his long run with the club.

He effusively thanked Tom Hicks for everything, including the way the owner fired the general manager.

"He was oat-standing in that," Armstrong said, exposing his polite Canadian roots.

You wouldn't have found many who approved so heartily when it was announced, if only for the curious timing and vague prospects of any difference it could possibly make now.

Meanwhile, Hicks hopes it will generate a buzz among players and fans that a clever off-season ad campaign didn't.

Question: How does firing the GM – or manager, as they like to say in hockey – put a jolt in the club now?

Answer: Only if it gives the rank-and-file hope that the Stars' new two-headed GM can do something one brain couldn't manage on its own.

As it turns out, Hicks wasn't any crazier about the Stars' failure to add firepower in the off-season than disgruntled fans, players and media. "Disappointed," is how he put it. When Columbus called asking about Armstrong's availability, the owner discussed the possibilities with his GM. Ultimately, Hicks said, "We decided to go forward."

But Hicks' doubts had been building, and not just about the roster. He wondered if a once-model organization had gone stale. On nearly any question about the Stars, he normally would have consulted Jim Lites. Or talked hockey with Armstrong. But Armstrong sensed some distance from the owner lately. Lites didn't get a call.

"I just wanted a more objective viewpoint," Hicks said.

So he went outside the organization, to a couple of friends in the NHL. And he talked to Mike Modano.

The preseason confab between Hicks and his star player couldn't have helped Armstrong's cause. Hicks wouldn't reveal what was discussed, but you don't have to channel Don Cherry to imagine where Modano stood. Armstrong was behind the decision to rip the "C" from Modano's sweater. He traded Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner and dumped Darryl Sydor, all vital parts in the franchise's success, all friends of Modano's.

Armstrong also represented a system that had always asked Modano to sacrifice and never played to his strengths. And when Modano desperately needed help to carry some of the scoring load, Armstrong in effect told him he'd done all he could. The former captain would have to shoulder the burden on his own.

In fairness to Armstrong, he tried to find a winger who would fit under the Stars' cap and in their system, too. He couldn't. Deals are more difficult than they were when Hicks simply rolled out his wallet.

Still, Hicks watched fans grow restless with the status-quo Stars while the Maple Leafs acquired Jason Blake and Colorado picked up Ryan Smyth and St. Louis got Paul Kariya.

"Other guys are getting some things done," Hicks said Friday. "I was concerned why we couldn't go get another goal scorer."

Hicks didn't issue any ultimatums to Armstrong going into the season, but the GM knew what was at stake.

"I understood that we had to get off to a good start," he said Friday.

Instead, the club barely held even. Modano's languid pursuit of the American scoring record only accentuated the struggles.

Hicks ultimately decided it was time to make a bold move before the season slipped away and the fan base with it.

Most organizations would have fired the coach. If you're trying to put a charge in your players, nothing works better, short of a trade.

But that's not Hicks' style. He believes in chain of command. Players are responsible to the coach, who's accountable to the GM, who answers to the owner.

Besides, Hicks was surprised to learn how much support Dave Tippett had from Brett Hull and Les Jackson and select players.

"Everybody believes Tippett is capable of taking hold of the team now," Hicks said.

Frankly, I'm not so sure. The Stars still have issues, not the least of which is the first two-headed GM in NHL history. Hicks doesn't see any similarities between this setup and the ill-fated marriage of Grady Fuson and John Hart with the Rangers. But it has the same feel. It remains to be seen if Hull and Jackson can make it work, much less accomplish what Armstrong couldn't.

Hey, Tom, do you expect your co-GMs to pull off a deal?

"Yeah," he said, "at some point."

No matter what else you think of Hicks, you have to like his sense of urgency. No pressure, fellas. You've got 64 games to get it right, and you're on the clock.