BUFFALO, N.Y. – Brandon Segal would love to find a home.

The 26-year-old winger has bounced across North America over the last six years, moving from Calgary to Milwaukee to Rockford to Norfolk to Tampa to Los Angeles to Dallas, with a few more stops in between.

So he's ready to set down roots as soon as possible.

"You always wanted to work out wherever you are, but I definitely would love to stick here," said the right wing Dallas picked up on waivers a month ago. "I have heard a ton of good things about this organization, and I've been able to see a lot of those things firsthand, so I'd love to make it work here."

Segal is an interesting mix of size and skill tinged with just a little inconsistency. The native of Richmond, British Columbia, has had some tremendous offensive seasons, but then he will go into slumps and find himself on the outside looking in. That's probably part of the reason he's been so many places – teams love what he brings, but they sometimes get impatient with him.

"I think for players at the NHL level, it's opportunity," Stars coach Marc Crawford said. "I think if they are given a consistent opportunity, there's not a great deal of difference between your eighth and 14th forward. The eighth forward gets more opportunity. Sometimes he gets it because there's trust issues with the coach or because there's a subtle difference with his game.

"Maybe he's a great skater or a great defensive player. For Brandon, the subtleties of his game are his puck protection skills, his size and the fact, for us, that he's a right shot. We don't have a lot of those. But what he has to do is take advantage of the opportunities on a consistent basis."

So far, so good for Segal. In four games with the Stars, he has two goals and two assists. He has played in the last two games on a line with Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow, and he's shown he can score goals and win puck battles with his 6-2, 209-pound frame.

"No matter what line I'm on, I have to try to do the same thing," Segal said. "Bring energy and get in on the forecheck, control the puck, be a big body down low and create some space for my linemates. I've got to make sure I am going out there every night and playing my game and not getting away from it."

Segal has learned a lot in his tour across the hockey world. Drafted 102nd overall by Nashville in 2002, he eventually washed out of the Predators organization. However, after putting up 26 goals and 26 assists in 52 games for Norfolk of the AHL last season, Los Angeles signed him to a two-year contract last summer.

The Kings played him 25 games and wanted to keep him, but the Stars scooped him up when the Kings tried to move him to the minors on waivers. Now the Stars hope he'll be a bargain. He's on a two-way contract for $550,000 next season, and it appears he will get a chance to stick around.

"It's such a strange business that you never really know why things work or don't," Segal said. "I do think they have a need for my type of player here, and I want to do everything I can to show them I fit and can help."