Carbonneau had 182 points in 72 games in his final season of junior hockey and then put together back-to-back AHL seasons of 88 and 94 points, so he knew what it was like to play a skilled game. However, he became a checker, because that's what you had to do to play for the Montreal Canadiens.
"Honestly, I just wanted to play," Carbonneau said of his battle to get into the lineup. "I wasn't a first-round pick, I was drafted in the third round, so I knew that whatever they told me to do, I would do it. I just wanted more than anything to play in the NHL. I think that helped me as I got older. The better I played defensively, the more ice time I got, and then you just start becoming a part of the team."
Carbonneau won Selke Trophies in 1988, 1989 and 1992 as the best defensive forward in the league. He was named captain of the Canadiens in 1990 and then played a big role in helping them win the Stanley Cup in 1993 when he went head-to-head against Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings.
That was the kind of experience that made everyone in the Stars' dressing room listen whenever Carbonneau talked.
"Those were the guys who knew what it looked like, felt like, smelled like to be a part of a team," Hitchcock said of players like Carbonneau, Keane and Ludwig. "We became a team and a family. It was the old school way, and that really helped us."