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After a long summer pondering their early departure from the playoffs last season, the Dallas Stars want to make up for a blown opportunity for a Stanley Cup.
With a new coach and an influx of talented players that boosted the payroll to about $66 million last season, Dallas led the Western Conference with 111 points. But the Stars lost to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the postseason.
``You have such high expectations. You put together a team that's supposed to win it, and you have a payroll that's indicative of that, and things don't work out,'' said Mike Modano, now the Stars captain. ``You just want to redeem yourself.''
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Dallas plays in one of three games kicking off the NHL season Wednesday night,
fittingly against the Mighty Ducks. Both teams will have plenty of competition
this year in the Western Conference. Ticketmaster
The Detroit Red Wings return with Dominik Hasek, who'll be trying to add another Stanley Cup to the one from 2002, while the Colorado Avalanche are coming back with a revamped roster that includes the high-flying duo of Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne.
And, of course, there's the upstart Minnesota Wild, fresh off a surprising playoff run last spring.
``Last year, it was one of those situations you hoped everything would fit together and you hoped you had a chance to win,'' Stars coach Dave Tippett said. ``Now we expect to win. Our goals are very simple, to be at the top. Every year, it's the same thing. It's a challenge, but you have to find a way to beat that challenge.''
Also playing openers Wednesday night are the reigning champion New Jersey Devils at Boston and Minnesota at Chicago. Ticketmaster
Stanley Cup aside, this season will also open amid concern over the current collective bargaining agreement. The NHL said operating losses totaled $300 million last season and it is intent on achieving some type of cost certainty.
Last season, Dallas beat Edmonton in the first round of the playoffs and everything seemed to be lining up perfectly.
Seventh-seeded Anaheim was up next, while Detroit and Colorado -- other top teams in the Western Conference -- had been eliminated by first-round upsets. Then Dallas lost to Anaheim in six games in the second round.
The success in the regular season didn't soften the disappointment. If anything, it made it worse. Ticketmaster
``It was no enjoyment at all,'' defenseman Philippe Boucher said. ``We didn't do enough.''
``Last year was a golden opportunity for us,'' said right wing Rob DiMaio. ``That's the motivation. We want to get back at it.''
While there weren't as many offseason changes as in previous years, this is a definitely different team.
Defenseman Derian Hatcher, the captain who played his first 11 NHL seasons for the Stars, left for Detroit as a free agent. Daryl Sydor, another defenseman who was part of the Stars' Stanley Cup championship in 1999, was traded. Kirk Muller retired. Ticketmaster
Forward Pierre Turgeon was put on waivers and offered a greatly reduced buyout of the three years left on his $32.5 million, five-year contract. He didn't take it, but a point was made.
Then All-Star winger Bill Guerin, the top free agent acquired last summer, was offered for trade, and veteran defenseman Richard Matvichuk went through the bitter arbitration process.
When training camp opened, goalie Marty Turco wasn't there. He missed a week as a contract holdout, trying to cash in on having set a modern-day NHL record with a 1.72 goals-against average, a more impressive feat considering it was his first season as the full-time starter.
Tippett chalks it all up to the business behind the games. Now that everyone is back in place, he expects the focus to be on finishing what was started last season. Ticketmaster
The biggest challenge is replacing Hatcher, an imposing 6-foot-5 player considered one of the league's best defensemen. He spent a lot of time on the ice (almost 26 minutes a game).
Dallas traded for Teppo Numminen, Phoenix's top defenseman with 30 points (six goals, 24 assists) and almost 24 minutes a game. The Stars also signed free agent Don Sweeney from Boston, and have returners Matvichuk and John Erskine.
Led by Modano (85 points), whose season of milestones included his 1,000th career goal and 1,000th game, the Stars return their top nine scorers from last season.
With uncertainty about the NHL labor agreement after this season, the Stars avoided lingering questions about Modano's future. They signed the All-Star center to a one-year extension to keep this from being the last year of his contract.
Jere Lehtinen, a three-time winner of the Selke Trophy as the league's top best defensive forward, got a new four-year contract. Turco got a three-year deal.
``There's a sense of relief that we were kept together and we have a shot,'' forward Scott Young said. ``We weren't dismantled in order to prepare for next year. So it's something that we want to take advantage of.''