"Will the real Dallas Stars please stand up?"

That question will be on the minds of a lot of hockey followers this season. Are the Dallas Stars the same team that surprisingly finished with the second-best record during the regular season last year and set a new franchise mark for points in a regular season with 104? Or are the Dallas Stars the team that took a bow and exited the playoffs after just one round by dropping a seven-game set to the Edmonton Oilers?

The Stars tried to avoid the question altogether by altering team chemistry during the off-season. Dallas improved their strength and size on the blue line with Shawn Chambers and signed a different starting goalie, Eddie Belfour. And, at least on paper, the Stars look to be an even better team this season than they were a year ago.

Dallas surprised everyone at the beginning of last season by winning seven of its first eight games. But contrary to popular opinion, the Stars didn’t flop after starting out strong. They kept up their winning ways throughout the regular season and went into the playoffs seeded second in the Western Conference behind the Colorado Avalanche.

But the playoffs were a nightmare for Dallas. The surprise team of the regular season was surprised itself by the shocking Edmonton Oilers. The Stars, with all of their leadership and guile, had their playoff run cut ruthlessly short by a group of youngsters that didn’t know they were supposed to lose. Call it choking, call it overconfidence, call it what you will -- the Dallas Stars were out of the playoffs.

During the off-season, management wisely decided that a major overhaul wouldn’t be necessary, but they were able to tinker with the team, making little additions here and cutting a few players loose there. The key to the off-season moves was the fact that Dallas’ top performers remained intact.

While Andy Moog wasn’t to blame for any of the playoff losses last year, the Stars felt it was time to go in a different direction -- a younger direction. Moog, 37, was replaced in goal by Belfour, who is nine years younger and a lot richer. The Stars also let backup goalie Arturs Irbe go to the Vancouver Canucks, leaving the goalie duties to Belfour and the inexperienced Roman Turek.

Belfour, who was an unrestricted free agent this off-season, left San Jose for a three-year, $10.5 million contract in Dallas. The contract Belfour signed was less than what the Sharks offered to retain his services, but Belfour chose a chance to win the Stanley Cup over the extra money in San Jose. Despite being a two- time Vezina Trophy winner, Belfour has gone Cup-less in his career. His one finals appearance was against the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1992.

Belfour had a sub-par 1996-97 season due to several factors -- an early-season tiff with the Chicago Blackhawks coaching staff, the subsequent trade to the Sharks and a nagging back injury. The Eagle won just 14 times in 46 appearances, but still had a respectable 2.91 GAA and a .901 save percentage.

Helping Belfour out on defense in Dallas will be the newly acquired Shawn Chambers, who spent the past two and a half seasons with the New Jersey Devils. Chambers, who was a +17 with the Devils last season, takes over for Grant Ledyard on the blue line. Ledyard fled Dallas through free agency to Vancouver. Chambers fits well with the mobile Stars defense that includes team captain Derian Hatcher, Sergei Zubov, Darryl Sydor, Richard Matvichuk, Craig Ludwig and Mike Lalor. One rookie who could crack the Stars blue line is Sergey Gusev, a 22-year-old who spent last year in Michigan (IHL). Gusev has a knack for moving the puck and reading the play. Ironically, I also have a knack for reading plays. My best reading is Othello. Damn, he’s fly.

Hatcher really came on last season as one of the league’s best defensive defensemen. Hatcher led a Stars defense that allowed the third fewest goals in the league last year (198). New Jersey was first with 182; Detroit followed with 197.

Not only did Hatcher’s defense improve, but his attitude did, as well. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound defenseman stepped up as a team leader last season, proving the "C" on his jersey wasn’t too much of a burden for a 25- year-old blueliner. Now that’s not to say Derian went all wussy like his brother Kevin. Don’t worry, Hatcher’s still got the mean streak in him, but now he’s just more controlled...controlled like a snarling, frothing RABID DOG LOCKED UP IN A CAGE!!!

Ahem...

Hatcher’s going to have to hold in all of that pent-up, off-season aggression a little while longer, however. The big man is currently in a contract dispute with the Stars. Hatcher, a restricted free agent, recently turned down an offer of $2.2 million a year, but GM Bob Gainey said he is optimistic about working something out in the near future.

The same can’t be said for the team’s superstar center, Mike Modano. Mikey Mo is also holding out as a restricted free agent. The Stars latest offer to Modano was a three-year, $10.2 million deal. Modano, who believes he’s worth every bit as much to the Stars as Joe Sakic is to Colorado, is looking for at least $4 million a season. Sakic is averaging $7 million a year after signing his new deal earlier in the summer.

Don’t fret Dallas fans. Your man should be in camp by the start of the season. He’s hoping to get things done with two exhibition games to go in training camp, so there’s still a lot of time.

And besides, a man of Modano’s stature doesn’t really need to work on much during camp. Modano was the one who led the Stars throughout the tremendous regular season last year, scoring 83 points (35 goals) in 80 games. He also improved his defensive game to fit in with coach Ken Hitchcock’s trapping defense. Modano was a +43 last season while playing on a line with Jere Lehtinen and Greg Adams. The line combined for 72 goals.

Like the Stars’ defense, the offense has a lot of veteran depth. Joey Nieuwendyk, Guy Carbonneau, Bob Bassen and Jaime Langenbrunner are the remaining centers, Pat Verbeek, Dave Reid and Benoit Hogue are reliable wingers while a host of others fill out the rest of the lineup.

But it’s this same host of centers and wings who couldn’t find the back of the net in three overtime losses to the Oilers in the playoffs. While some of the credit has to go to Oiler goalie Curtis Joseph, who made some incredible saves, the veteran Stars offense just didn’t produce enough during the entire series. Verbeek, in particular, was a major disappointment. After scoring 41 goals the year before, the former Whale netted just 17 last season and only one in the postseason.

Stars management added another veteran forward to the roster over the off-season. Bob Errey, who has bounced back and fourth from Detroit to San Jose during the past few years, signed on for this season with Dallas. Errey will take Brent Gilchrist’s spot in the lineup. Gilchrist took the free agent route to Detroit.

Tough guy Bill Huard must have liked what he saw of the Oilers during the playoffs last year because he signed on with them as a free agent this year. Rookie Patrick Cote will be looking to take over his role. Cote racked up 237 penalty minutes in 58 games for Michigan last season.

So it seems everyone is in place in the Dallas Stars lineup -- barring any extended contract holdouts. And it looks like the Stars will make another run at the best overall record in the league, only this time it won’t be a surprise.

But as the Stars found out last season, the regular season means nothing come playoff time. The seven-game loss to the Oilers left a lasting impression on Dallas, and they’re bound to make sure the same thing won’t happen this season.

Will the real Dallas Stars stand up?

You can count on it.

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