How do Stars find right balance between positive, negative motivation?

On every NHL team, there is a litany of folks who make sure the equipment is perfectly prepared, up-to-date, and ready.
Likewise, there is a group of people who take care of injuries and make sure every athlete is in peak physical form with exercise routines, and diets, and supplements.
Yet, the emotional state of players and coaches … well, that's a little more nebulous.
Each player is left to figure out what works best. Each coach is expected to find mental "buttons" and push the right ones. That can be challenging with 30-some players passing through the roster during any given season.

So as the Stars continue to face challenges with mental preparation this year, you do wonder what the solutions might be. They have tried positive reinforcement, rewarding players for doing the right thing. They have leaned heavily on negative reinforcement, sending out some of the most alarming messages through the media and behind closed doors.
The question then becomes what works best.

"It's a tough balance," Stars coach Jim Montgomery said Saturday morning before a 3-1 loss to the Blues. "You look at the standings and we're in an OK position, but nobody is happy with a lot of parts of our game. So we're trying to get people into the right frame of mind to address some of the deficiencies that we see."
And how important is coaching in that process?
"It's really important," Montgomery said. "And as a coaching staff, and me in particular, we haven't done a good enough job of pushing those buttons. Our job is to continue to work at it, so we do."
After the Stars were listless and undisciplined in the defeat Saturday, Montgomery was clearly frustrated. He had poured a lot of button-pushing into Saturday's pre-game, and wasn't rewarded.
"Unfortunately, there's been too many times where we have to think about, 'How do we motivate these guys?' That's a problem, in and of itself, that we've had to do that so many times this year already," Montgomery said.
"We all have to look in the mirror, just like I am in front of you guys right now. I can only reflect on how I need to be better. I can't reflect on what they're thinking and how they need to improve. I can make suggestions."

Players say they understand the process, and different individuals have said they like Montgomery's frank coaching style and the way he seeks opinions from the players. Klingberg said before Saturday's game that the players can learn from both negative and positive feedback.
"I really think we understand," he said. "I can tell you that even when we have won, we haven't been happy with our game, and we talk about what we need to do better, and it's been that way all year. We can talk about positive or negative, but I really think we are all professionals and we all want to get better, and we all know what's good and what isn't.
"A lot of this comes down to each individual understanding what he does best and then having each player go out and contribute that. When we're doing that and we're playing well together, that's when it goes well."
Stars captain Jamie Benn said before Saturday's game that individual attention to detail is something that's key to the entire team being prepared. Benn said that in a similar way to players going through their offseason workouts on their own, each one has to be committed and know when he gives a complete effort.
"A big part of it is just being mentally tough," he said. "If you're doing the right things and you know you're doing the right things, and you're still not getting results, it's easier just to stick with it and believe that it will turn. But you know when you're not giving it your all, and if you do that, you know the negatives will creep in. It's something you have to stay on top of everyday, and you just have to learn to live that way."
The Stars have missed the playoffs for the past two seasons and have won just one playoff series in five seasons since GM Jim Nill took over, so there is some frustration in the organization right now. Spezza said that there has to be a drive to move up the standings every season, but they have to balance that with an 82-game schedule.

"I definitely think you have to strive for more. If you're in a seventh or eighth playoff spot, I do think you have to say that's not good enough and you have to get to the top," Spezza said before Saturday's game. "Now, when you become one of those top teams, I believe you have to guard against poking too many holes in your game, because I've been on teams like that before, and it is hard to play in that environment where nothing seems good enough. But that's not our problem.
"I like the fact that our standard is going up. I think it's good for us."
The key is being mentally tough enough to dig in and handle the preparation. They put those details into physical conditioning and making sure the equipment is perfect, so they also need to make sure their brains are prepared and sharp.
"I'm always more concerned with how our team is playing and how we're growing," Montgomery said when asked how much he looks at the standings. "The frustrating part sometimes is you don't see enough growth … and then you do see growth and you get excited about how good we could be. Trying to get to that level where we start to see what we are on a daily basis, then we're not going to have to worry about looking at the standings.
"We're just going to know where we should be, and we'll be there."
Right now, they have a lot of work to do to get to that place.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.