Stars owner Tom Hicks has encountered some financial struggles in recent years, and the club’s payroll is now in the moderate range (just under $50M). Formerly, the team spent to the limit, but the Stars are scaling it back.

In the front office, major change is afoot as Star legend Joe Nieuwendyk takes the reigns as GM as Brett Hull and Les Jackson were reassigned. Nieuwendyk’s first order of business was the firing of Dave Tippett and installation of Marc Crawford as coach. It appears that a tougher coach with a bit more of an offensive bent is Nieuwendyk’s taste. Whether it works for a veteran team will be revealed as the season unfolds.

Examining where the Stars stand as the season opens, one must put aside the brutal start last season, now most accurately known as The Sean Avery Era. No luck during that stretch, but the Stars availed themselves pretty well toward the end of the season. Considering that the team was without captain Brendan Morrow (15 pts in 18 GP) for the last 64 games of the season, Jere Lehtinen was held to 48, and Brad Richards appeared in only 56, it’s unfair to paint too bleak a picture for the formerly perennial playoff participants.

Morrow, 30, returns, healthy after ACL surgery on his right knee, to lead a very talented top-six. Mike Ribiero has turned in 18-, 27- and 22-goal seasons with Dallas, and will welcome his usual linemate. 24-year-old Loui Eriksson had a breakthrough, 36-goal season. Richards, limited by injury to 16 goals, also returns healthy to center the second line. It’s been four seasons since Richards’ career-high of 91 points. Left wing James Neal came through with 24 goals in a breakthrough year to rival Eriksson’s. A tough guy with an emerging scorer’s touch, Steve Ott saw first line duty put an end to the Sean Avery Era in fine style, with 19 goals in 64 games.

Down the lineup, Fabian Brunnstrom should get a chance to play in a number of situations after scoring 17 goals in 55 games, Brunnstrom limited by foot and shoulder injuries. Look for LW Jamie Benn, who has looked good in the preseason, to get a third- or fourth-line opportunity,after the 20-year-old scored 46 goals for Kelowna (WHL) last season.

Defensively, Trevor Daley, who turns 25 October 9, 23-year-old Matt Niskanen and 24-year-old Nik Grossman have ascended the depth chart and now join Stephane Robidas as the defensive leaders of the team. With a 25th-ranked defense, it’s clear that the voids created by the departures of Sergei Zubov (also Darryl Sydor, to a lesser degree), must be filled for the team to have a shot in the conference standings (the team finished 12th). Karlis Skrastins comes over from Florida, while prospect Philip Larsen (Frolunda, SWE) wow’d ‘em at training camp, and while he’ll go back to Sweden for seasoning, the club is itching to bring him aboard.

Alex Auld (2.47GAA; .911SV%) comes over from Ottawa to back up Marty Turco, who is in the last year of a $5.4M per contract. Turco’s numbers were brutal, finishing 30th in GAA, 42nd in save percentage.