There's no apparent rush to hire a new coach. The Stars have contacted a number of candidates, but the process is in the early stages.

It's unlikely that a coach will be introduced until the ownership situation is resolved. Canadian businessman Tom Gagliardi is the current frontrunner with a bid of more than $250 million.

Finalizing the sale probably won't happen until late June, and maybe even later, because of an organized bankruptcy hearing to clear creditors.

So bringing in a new coach to succeed the fired Mark Crawford is on hold.

Candidates include Montreal assistant and former Dallas player Kirk Muller; Glen Gulutzen, coach of the AHL Texas Stars; former Stars coach Ken Hitchcock; ex-Montreal coach and former Stars player Guy Carbonneau; former Ottawa coach Cory Clouston; and longtime NHL coach Mike Keenan.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT
A team that failed to string together three straight victories during the entire 2009-2010 previous season was an early revelation, compiling winning streaks of six and four games before the All-Star break. The Stars established a franchise record with eight consecutive road victories.

Staying healthy was the key, with Dallas losing only 51 player-games in the first 50 games.

The Stars were getting major production from their top line, led by C Brad Richards and RW Loui Eriksson, and a second line that included C Mike Ribeiro and LW Brenden Morrow was also a force. The checking line of Jamie Benn centering for Steve Ott and Adam Burish was also a factor. Defensively, Dallas was better than anticipated, and goalies Kari Lehtonen and Andrew Raycroft both played well early.

Entering the break, the Stars were 23-2-1 when they scored the first goal, 16-0-1 when they led after two periods, and 16-3-5 in one-goal games. Marc Crawford was even receiving Coach of the Year support, with the players seemingly buying into his system.

A February trade with Pittsburgh that brought in D Alex Goligoski was one of Nieuwendyk's best moves. Goligoski has cemented a role as a top-four blueliner.

TURNING POINT
The Stars' season began to unravel in the first game out of the All-Star break, losing to the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 on Feb. 1. Dallas would go on to lose all four games to Vancouver, having been outscored 20-5.

A 3-8-1 February coincided with the team's first injury crisis of the season.

With such stalwarts as Richards, D Nicklas Grossman and Burish out with various ailments, a roster with a payroll more than $10 million under the salary cap simply didn't have the depth to cushion such a blow. A parade of minor league call-ups was little help, underscoring the team's series of mostly unproductive drafts. A trade that brought back RW Jamie Langenbrunner and the free agent signing of forward Jason Williams didn't have much of an impact.

Richards was out for 10 games with concussion symptoms and wasn't the same player when he returned. Grossman, a member of the team's No. 1 duo, sat out 21 of the final 26 games with injuries. Heart-and-soul forward Burish was sidelined for eight games with a facial injury, and another 11 with a cracked bone in his leg, and his infectious enthusiasm was especially missed.

Although he insisted he was fine, G Kari Lehtonen had to be worn down after starting the final 23 games. Lehtonen played in only a dozen games the previous season due to back problems. Extended late-season minutes also emptied the tanks of LWs Brenden Morrow and Jamie Benn, RW Loui Eriksson, C Mike Ribeiro and defensemen Alex Goligoski and Stephane Robidas.

Dallas went 2-2-3 during a season-long homestand in March, and then followed that up with a 1-3-1 road trip against Pacific Division opponents. The Stars blew two late leads against Anaheim, and ended up losing both in overtime.

By the end of the season, the Stars had tumbled into the Pacific basement, and were the last team eliminated from the playoffs despite a late-season spurt that saw them win four of their last five.

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