VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The first move is to figure out the essentials. There's the suitcase, the headphones, the phone charger, the computer, the Lululemon wardrobe and the favorite t-shirts. It's almost like clockwork figuring out what stays and what goes, and the packing has become the easy part for a journeyman like Joel Hanley.
Hanley, the Stars defensemen, is used to the nomadic lifestyle of an AHL player on constant one-year contracts. The summers are filled with uncertainty and nerves and moving trucks. In his career, Hanley has never signed a multi-year contract. Only once in his career has he played back-to-back seasons in the same organization.