Stars' new minor league partner no stranger to hockey

Monday, August 23, 2004

When the Dallas Stars officially announced their minor league affiliation with the new American Hockey League franchise in Des Moines, Iowa Monday, they got a familiar face as a partner as well.

That would be Howard Baldwin, who has a long and colorful history in the hockey world. A history that dates back to the original WHA and the New England/Hartford Whalers and includes involvement with the Minnesota North Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL .

Dallas/Iowa Agreement

Team Name: Iowa Stars (AHL)

Contract Length: Five Years

Affiliation start: 2005-06

Terms: Dallas Stars will have control over all hockey decisions including the hiring of a head coach, assistant coaches, equipment manager and trainer.

Web site: iowastarshockey.com

Baldwin is co-owner of the Des Moines AHL franchise that will begin play in 2005-06 and serve as the Stars' minor league team for five-years starting that season. It's a key agreement for the Stars, who are expected to put a bigger emphasis on the development of prospects in the years ahead.

With Baldwin the Stars get a partner who has been involved with hockey for a long time and at some very high levels. He's been involved in key moments and controversial ones as well.

Ask Colorado Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville, who played in Hartford when Baldwin was the owner, and he would tell you Baldwin is "a great owner. He shows his true colors by finding ways to get things done."

Ask Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Ron Cook about Baldwin and he would say: "Is anyone more responsible for the dire financial straits of not just the Penguins, but the entire NHL?"

The 62-year-old Baldwin was raised in New York and Boston, joined the Marines and attended Boston University. He even tried out for the Detroit Tigers, but didn't make it. He then landed a job with the Philadelphia Flyers' affiliate in New Jersey.

"I did everything. I drove the bus, sold tickets," Baldwin told the Kansas City Star. "I even coached for a week. The coach left town, and he tells me, ‘Don't tell anybody.' I didn't mind. I just devoured the sport."

And that fascination with hockey led to a higher involvement in the game. In 1972 he and a group of others founded the New England Whalers, who were one of the original teams in the World Hockey Association.

The Whalers, who at one time featured the legendary Gordie Howe playing with sons Mark and Marty, would be among the WHA teams that merged with the NHL in 1979.

"Howard is a doer," former NHL president John Ziegler told the Kansas City Star. "We would have never put that merger together had it not been for Howard's perseverance and his capacity to work with people. He was a very big part of NHL history."

Baldwin would eventually sell his interest in the Whalers in 1988. But a couple of years later he was involved in another pivotal NHL deal. This time it had to do with the Minnesota North Stars and the league's expansion into San Jose.

The Gund brothers, who owned the North Stars, were threatening to move the team to San Jose just as the league was getting ready to expand back into the Bay Area. Baldwin had an interest in a San Jose franchise as well.

To keep a long and involved story short, the NHL was able to broker a deal that saw Baldwin and Norm Green buy the North Stars, in exchange for the Gunds getting the franchise in San Jose.

Baldwin would sell his interest in the North Stars and that would lead him to Pittsburgh, where he would be a part of a Stanley Cup winning team and eventually get blamed for the Penguins' eventually falling into bankruptcy.

Baldwin led a group that bought the Penguins in November 1991. The Penguins were coming off a Stanley Cup championship the previous season and would win it again in 1992.

But in Pittsburgh Baldwin will be remembered for several questionable deals that helped paved the way for the Penguins eventually declaring bankruptcy in the late 1990's.

There was a six-year, $42 million dollar contract for Mario Lemieux which was heavy on deferred money. And a big contract for Jaromir Jagr as well. He signed some deals regarding broadcasting and arena issues that were suspect.

Those who followed the Penguins said Baldwin was trying to be loyal to the players and the fans.

"He definitely took some criticism for business deals that either weren't structured correctly or shouldn't have been made,” reporter Bob Grove told the Kansas City Star. "The Penguins were poised to become a dynasty. To do it, he needed to keep the team intact.

"Had Howard said, ‘I don't have that kind of money, I've got to trade guys like Lemieux or (Jaromir) Jagr,' the fans would have gone crazy if he would have jettisoned those guys. But he cared about his players. He wanted to win. His heart was in the right place. He was good to his players — good to a fault."

One thing Baldwin never regretted was the Lemieux contract, which some say led to an explosion in player salaries because it a set a new standard for elite players.

"Do you know what would have happened if I had let Mario go after the team had just won the Stanley Cup?" Baldwin told the Post-Gazette. "No, I'll never regret that contract. As for anyone who says that started the league's problems, they're naive. There's only one Mario. If the other owners listened to the agents who said that contract was the standard, that's their fault."

Baldwin has since moved on. He has produced movies and bought the defunct AHL franchise in Louisville and moved it to Des Moines. It will begin play in 2005-06 as the Stars' new minor league affiliate.

But Baldwin still has his sights on the NHL. He's been at the center of speculation about the possible relocation of an NHL franchise to Kansas City. A possible return to Hartford has been mentioned as well.

As for which team might be ripe for relocation, Baldwin won't say.

"It would be inappropriate for me to identify a team," Baldwin told the Star, "because the team would be mad and say, 'How dare you say?' But there are teams out there, and we're going to do our best to find one."