Tony Gutierrez / AP

Marc Crawford takes over behind the bench in Dallas this season.

Stanley Cups: 1

2008-'09 record: 36-35-11, 83 points (3rd in Pacific, 12th in West)

2008-'09 playoffs: Did not qualify

General managers: Joe Nieuwendyk (1st NHL year, 1st team)

Coach: Marc Crawford (470-361-152, 14th NHL year, 4th team)

Captain: Brenden Morrow

Top returning scorer: C Mike Ribeiro (22 goals, 56 assists, 78 points)

Top returning goalie: Marty Turco (33-31-10, 2.81, .898)

Key additions: D Karlis Skrastins; C Warren Peters; D Jeff Woywitka; G Alex Auld.

Key subtractions: LW Steve Begin; RW Chris Conner; C Brendan Morrison; D Darryl Sydor; RW Mark Parrish; C Joel Lundqvist; D Sergei Zubov; RW Landon Wilson.

Top line: LW Brenden Morrow, C Mike Ribeiro, RW Jere Lehtinen

Top defensive pairing: Niklas Grossman, Stephane Robidas

Goaltending: One of many Stars who endured an abysmal start to 2008-09 campaign, with an .870 save percentage through his first 14 decisions (5-9-4). Rebounded from that skid to win 30 games for the sixth straight season, but Stars were still so unsettled by Turco’s performance that they were a strong suitor for Swedish free-agent goalie Jonas Gustavsson, who eventually signed with Toronto.

Player to watch: C Tom Wandell. Posted a 41-point season to earn Swedish Elitserin rookie-of-the-year honors with Timra last season, posting a club-high plus-15 rating. Also got to Dallas for a 14-game trial, posting 1-2-3 totals. Agile skater is a deft stickhandler and a clever puck mover. Capable of playing all three forward positions.

Icing: Mike Modano is starting his 20th season with the Stars, the only NHL team with which he has played. He is also expected to be on the U.S. Olympic team, which would be his fourth appearance. Modano is the franchise leader with 543 goals, 786 assists, 1,329 points, and 1,400 games played. There have been only nine NHL players with more points for one team. Dave Tippett lost his job after the lost season, giving way to Crawford, who is 15th in career NHL games coached (987) and 16th with 470 wins.

Outlook: Like Colorado, Dallas was a power for many years that suddenly finds itself in decline, with its star players leaving or aging rapidly. Not as far down the food chain as the Avs, but still likely to be playoff outsiders.

Prediction: 91 points (3rd in Pacific, 9th seed in West)

NHL TEAM-BY-TEAM PREVIEWS Teams listed in predicted order of finish; x-playoff team ATLANTIC x-Penguins x-Flyers x-Devils x-Rangers Islanders Vote: Winner? CENTRAL x-Red Wings x-Blackhawks x-Blue Jackets x-Blues Predators Vote: Winner? NORTHEAST x-Bruins x-Canadiens Sabres Maple Leafs Senators Vote: Winner? NORTHWEST x-Flames x-Canucks Oilers Wild Avalanche Vote: Winner? SOUTHEAST x-Capitals x-Hurricanes Thrashers Panthers Lightning Vote: Winner? PACIFIC x-Sharks x-Ducks Stars Kings Coyotes Vote: Winner?

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