Despite several key injuries to the likes of Mike Modano, Brendan Morrow and Eric Lindros this past season, the Dallas Stars still managed to win 50 games and pick up an impressive 107 points.

They may not have been the most offensively potent team in the league, due in large part to injuries, but the Stars were one of the most dangerous club's to face during the 2006-07 campaign.

"Once you take the sting out of losing in the first round, obviously it's a disappointment, it was a fairly successful season," said Stars Assistant GM Frank Provenzano.

"We got that (record) playing in arguably the toughest division in the league and we did that with some significant injuries to significant players in the lineup."

Led by All-Star goalie Marty Turco, the Stars held the opposition to only 2.35 goals-per-game, third best in the entire NHL. The 31-year-old native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, had the fourth-best goals-against-average (2.23) this year, ranked fifth in shutouts (6), seventh in wins (38) and compiled the ninth-most amount of total minutes (3,763:52). It's safe to assume that without his stellar performance, the Stars may not have had such a successful season.

"He's one of the best goalies in the league," Provenzano proclaimed. "He's one of the best players in the league at a crucial position."

As the Stars weigh in on the ups and downs of this past season, they have several important free agents, both restricted and unrestricted, to worry about. According to Provenzano, this is an area the club is already well prepared to deal with.

"We started that process in September when we re-signed Morrow and (Jere) Lehtinen," he explained. "When the year went on we re-signed (Mike) Smith and (Stephane) Robidas, and that process continues. In the (organizational) meetings, that's where you determine (who will be brought back). Once we have our meetings, it'll crystallize the final month of preparation before the June draft and free agency."

Goal scoring is expected to be an area of focus this summer. The Stars only averaged 2.65 goals-per-game. Winger Ladislav Nagy was acquired in February to help solve their scoring woes, but only light the lamp four times during the regular-season in Dallas.

"(Nagy) was brought in to improve our attack and to improve our ability to score goals," Frovenzano said. "We were a team that didn't score a lot of goals. The good side of that was that we didn't let in too many goals. He played fairly well."

Rookie left-wing Loui Eriksson, who scored in his first NHL game, played in 59 contests with the Stars this year, took some time to get used to the nature of the league. The native of Goteborg, Sweden, scored six goals and added 13 assists for 19 points.

"Based on this season, Loui's still a very young player," said Frovenzano. "He was right on schedule in terms of breaking into the NHL lineup this year. The offensive ability has been exhibited."

Providing Eriksson doesn't come in to training camp this September in horrendous shape, he will be counted on to provide the Stars with a scoring presence on one of their top two lines. The 21-year-old has excellent offensive instincts and a great eye for the net, something that will burst onto the NHL scene in due time.

Among the club's most notable UFAs-to-be this year, Lindros, Nagy, Stu Barnes and Darryl Sydor lead the list. It has been widely reported that Nagy will not be brought back, while the future of the rest of the pack remains to be seen.

The Stars have not yet started negotiations with the players they'd like to keep, and the team is expected to be relatively active this summer.

"I think one of the reasons we didn't score last season was that our personnel weren't together for a good part of season," Frovenzano said. "It wasn't a very settled group due to injury. Once you get into free agency, you start to look at what's available. Historically, it's a very expensive way to fill needs."

If the right price comes along, however, the Stars will take it into consideration.

"We're not going to be necessarily a major player in free agency," Frovenzano explained, "but we do have room to be active in the free agent market.

"It depends, once you get into it, what it looks like in terms of cost versus the value under the salary cap, on a per player basis."

One area of the team that will remain the same is the coaching staff. Head coach Dave Tippett, and assistant coaches Mark Lamb and Rick Wilson, will remain behind the bench next season, and rightfully so. Tippett has won 190 games in four seasons with Dallas, and has led the team to a pair of division titles.

Top 06-07 Performers | Off-Season Needs | Time to step up | Free Agents | Top Prospects

TOP 2000-07 PERFORMERS

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OFF-SEASON NEEDS

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TIME TO STEP UP

	Loui Eriksson Granted, the 2006-07 campaign was Eriksson's rookie season. But the Stars are going to need this 21-year-old (he turns 22 on July 17) to really show them what he's made of. Eriksson possesses great scoring instincts, despite scoring only six times last season, and the Stars are desperate for goals.
	Jeff Halpern Coming off arguably the worst offensive-season of his NHL career, Halpern's two-way game disappeared this past season. Halpern produced back-to-back 40+ point seasons prior to joining the Stars and Dallas needs him to up his game, at both ends of the rink, next season.
	Mike Modano The Stars may have made the playoffs, but they could have done much more had the face of the franchise performed like he's done in the past. Modano was plagued by knee problems all year, and it's tough to play up to par in between injuries. Nevertheless, Modano needs to return to point-per-game form in order for the Stars to compete for the Cup in 2007-08.

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KEY FREE AGENTS

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TOP PROSPECTS