FRISCO – There were serious doubts circulated around the NHL last fall when the Dallas Stars named co-general managers for the first time in modern professional sports history.

But after a trip to the Western Conference finals, nobody seems to be calling Les Jackson and Brett Hull a novelty act anymore.

"I think our success has made people stop talking about it," Hull said. "If we would have fallen on our faces, then people would have said, 'Boy, are they stupid for trying that.' "

How have they avoided the predicted fall? How have they been able to mesh two distinctly different personalities? As the team begins organized preparation for the 2008-09 season by sending a squad to the league's annual prospects tournament this week in Michigan, Hull and Jackson sat down with The Dallas Morning News last week. The word they used to describe their unique working arrangement was trust.

"I just think at the end of the day, we're all working for the same team and toward the same goal," said Jackson, a long-time front-office member before receiving the promotion last November. "And I really don't think it's that different than any other organization. Everyone has a job. Everyone does their job, and most decisions are made by a group, anyway. You get input from everybody."

While it appears from the outside that Jackson and Hull have different jobs and bring different skills to the table, Hull said they don't work separately. The outward appearance was that Jackson pushed hard to sign unrestricted 23-year-old Swede Fabian Brunnstrom, a free-agent winger who fits right into Jackson's love for young, developing skilled players. It also appeared from the outside that Hull engineered the free-agent signing of veteran forward Sean Avery, a former roommate and a personality in the mold of Hull's stir-it-up mindset.

But Hull said that's not true.

"With Avery, I think you're giving me far too much credit on that," said Hull, a former star player and frequent critic of NHL workings. "That was a decision that both Les and I made, and we really didn't have to argue or sell each other. We looked at our options, and we both decided that's the player we want."

FILE PHOTO 2007

Since November, Stars co-general managers Brett Hull (left) and Les Jackson have added several veteran players and opened the door for a host of youngsters.

That said, the GMs have begun to shape the roster. Since November, the Stars have shed key players such as Mattias Norstrom, Stu Barnes, Niklas Hagman, Jussi Jokinen, Antti Miettinen, Jeff Halpern and Mike Smith. They have added Avery, Brunnstrom and Brad Richards and opened the door for a host of youngsters to take increased roles, including Matt Niskanen, Mark Fistric, Nicklas Grossman, Loui Eriksson, Joel Lundqvist, B.J. Crombeen, Ray Sawada, James Neal and Tobias Stephan.

But as much as those personnel changes are significant, Hull said the GMs are not just shuffling talent to put their fingerprint on the team – a desire he stated when he first took the job.

"I think we're learning that's not the goal," Hull said. "You can't just move people to put your own people in here. The goal is to create a team that can win the Stanley Cup."

And that just shows that two GMs can learn just as easily as one.

"You have to develop a plan and then trust that plan," Jackson said. "You put coaches in place, and you trust those coaches. You put players in place, and you trust those players. It's not about Brett or I; it's about the players on the ice and the coaches who coach them. That's where the game is won."

Sept. 13-17 – Stars participate in prospect tournament in Traverse City, Mich.

Sept. 13 – Stars Icebreaker at the Galleria, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Players will sign autographs.

Sept. 19 – Training camp begins in Frisco.

Sept. 23 – Preseason opener at St. Louis.

Sept. 25 – Home preseason opener vs. Colorado.

Oct. 10 – Regular-season opener, at home vs. Columbus.

The Stars have at least three players participating in the prospects tournament in Traverse City, Mich., who will be fighting for a spot on the NHL roster. Three players to watch:

Fabian Brunnstrom, 23 (LW/RW): The Stars had to win a bidding war to sign the free agent out of Sweden to an incentive-laden contract that could be worth as much as $2.225 million this season. This will be his first competitive experience on the smaller North American ice.

James Neal, 21 (LW): Dallas' second draft pick in 2005 (33rd overall), Neal is a big, physical player (6-3, 205) who can score goals. After returning from a knee injury last season, he had 13 goals in 28 games for Iowa.

Ray Sawada, 23 (RW): Another big, physical winger (6-2, 205), Sawada is coming off a four-year college career at Cornell and appears to be the most experienced of the three. He had two goals and seven assists for nine points in 10 games after a call-up to Iowa last season. Read the wide-ranging Q&A with co-general managers Brett Hull and Les Jackson on dallasnews.com.