Belfour returns to the city where he spent the last five years of his career on Friday when his new team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, travel to the Lone Star State to battle the Stars.
Though Belfour's return is receiving plenty of hype in Dallas, especially since he'd be playing against the man who took his job -- former backup Marty Turco -- Leafs head coach and general manager Pat Quinn isn't sure if he'll start his star goaltender.
"It's one of those double-edged situations. You want to go in and beat your old team but there's some other emotions that come into play there," said Quinn.
Ed Belfour may not get the nod against his former team, the Dallas Stars.(CP Photo)
"When you're trying to do a good job, you want to be able to concentrate and not be distracted. But, sometimes, it makes you sharper. I don't know the right answer."
Belfour appeared in two Stanley Cup finals with the Stars and guided the team to the championship in 1999. The two-time Vezina Trophy winner signed with the Leafs in the off season when Dallas decided to turn the reigns over to the 27-yearold Turco on a full-time basis.
It marked the end of Belfour's successful, yet sometimes tumultuous, career with the Stars.
Known for having open feuds with then-coach Ken Hitchcock, Belfour faced charges of assault and resisting arrest two years ago after a late-night scuffle with a hotel guard, in which he was maced by police. Belfour first offered police $100,000 US, then $1 billion, if they would keep him out of jail.
His brushes with teammates, coaches and the law were a familiar sight on the sports pages in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but it never seemed to affect his play until last season.
His 21-27-4 record, which included a 2.65 goals-against average and .895 save percentage, was his worst over his five-year tenure with the Stars. The 37-year-old was considered in some corners as the best goalie in hockey between 1997-98 and 2000-2001, but the low numbers after the 2001-02 season made for an especially bitter departure.
Belfour played in 307 games for Dallas and posted a 160-95-44 mark with 27 shutouts.
If Quinn opts to sit Belfour, Trevor Kidd will get the nod between the pipes.
Toronto enters Friday's tilt on the heels of a 4-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.
Alexander Mogilny notched his 16th career hat trick, and scored the game-winning goal late in the third period to lead the Leafs to victory. Darcy Tucker also scored for Toronto, which is 1-1-1 in its last three.
Belfour stopped 34 shots to run his record to 3-4-2 on the season.
Toronto has been outshot in all four of its wins this season.
Dallas comes into Friday's affair after shutting out the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 on Wednesday. Mike Modano had two goals and an assist and Turco recorded his seventh career shutout with 26 saves in the triumph.
Turco made nine saves in the first period, eight in the second and nine in the third to post his second shutout of the year.
The Stars, who are outscoring their opponents, 16-6, in the first period this season jumped out to a three-goal lead in the opening stanza and never looked back.
Modano has eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points through the first 14 games this season and is now just five points shy of reaching the 1,000-point plateau.
The Stars are 12-5-2 in the last 19 matchups, but have dropped two of the last three in Dallas. However, the Maple Leafs have dropped six of the last eight in the Stars' home rink.
With files from Sports Network
