Marty Turco
|
|
Marty Turco (born August 13, 1975 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) is a goaltender for the Dallas Stars of the NHL.
Unlike most Canadians in the NHL, Marty did not play major junior hockey, instead playing for the University of Michigan in the NCAA. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars, and went on to play for Michigan that fall. Marty earned many awards in his four years at Michigan, including Rookie of the Year in 1995, Tournament MVP in 1998, and nominations to the First All-Star team in 1997, the Second All-Star Team in 1998, and the All-Tournament Team in 1996 and 1998. After graduating, Marty went to play for Dallas's IHL affiliate, the Michigan K-Wings. In 1999, he was named IHL Rookie of the Year.
After two years playing for the K-Wings, Marty was given the opportunity to back up Ed Belfour in Dallas. He spent the next two years in Dallas gaining experience and showing what he could do. After the 2001-2002 season, Dallas decided to make Marty the starting goaltender, allowing Belfour to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Marty's 2002-2003 season showed that Marty could be much more than a back up. His goals against average of 1.72 set a modern NHL record. Marty played in the NHL All-Star Game during the season and the Second All-Star Team following the season. His .932 saving percentage was also best in the NHL that year. However, this record only stood for one year as Miikka Kiprusoff set a new record low goals-against average of 1.69.
Next season, Marty continued to give the Stars quality goaltending, again playing in the All-Star Game. However, when the Stars played the Colorado Avalanche in the playoffs, Marty played very poorly, and was blamed for the loss in some quarters.
Despite this disappointing playoff performance, Marty has emerged as one of the NHL's top goalies, and has become a serious contender for the Vezina Trophy each year, playing a style somewhat similar to Martin Brodeur.