Mike Modano lived the dream when he led the Dallas Stars to the Stanley Cup last spring, but he never could have imagined how soon after that he would plunge into the darkness of his own hockey nightmare. 'Everyone knows about the Stanley Cup hangover,' the soon-to-be 30-year-old told The Hockey News. 'But, for me, it was unbelievable. Emotionally, I was out of tune. Mentally and physically, I just wasn't where I needed to be to start the season. It completely clouded how I felt about the game.'

You would never know it now. The Mike Modano who leads the defending champion Stars into the playoffs is firing on all cylinders. Skating on a line with gritty rookie Brenden Morrow and rugged Jamie Langenbrunner, Modano is playing better now than he ever has in his 11-year NHL career. Modano is, as always, delivering offensively for the Stars, scoring 38 goals and 81 points in 75 games.

From the time the No. 1 pick in the 1988 draft joined the franchise, he has always been the Stars' go-to guy on offense. And his strong two-way play comes as no surprise, not after his pressure-treated performances last spring. He established his mental toughness then, too, playing through the pain of injury. He has long since shed the reputation of a soft, finesse player who played a perimeter game.

So, what makes him so much better now? 'He has become way more abrasive,' said demanding Stars' coach Ken Hitchcock. 'He's fighting for his space on the ice as hard as any player fights. He doesn't need help any more. He takes care of himself. He has an edge to him.' And his confidence is soaring. 'He's more dangerous than he has ever been,' said Los Angeles defenseman Rob Blake of his Pacific Division rival. 'He wants the puck all the time and when he gets it, he puts fear into his opponents because he has the speed, strength and skill to go all the way with it. He's really taking charge out there, he wants to change the game every time he has the puck.' But the key to all of it was clearing away the clutter that was weighing him down when the season started. 'The best way I can put it,' Hitchcock said, 'is that he has allowed his mind to be free. He had a lot of raw emotion he was dealing with. He was emotionally distraught.'

It is one of the most surprising storylines of this season. Mike Modano, down and out in Big D? Who would have thought it possible so closely on the heels of his first Stanley Cup championship? Not Modano. 'It really took me by surprise,' he said. 'A lot of things took me by surprise.' Like, just how quickly the short off-season roared by. In its most basic form, Modano's problem was rooted in that he wasn't ready­emotionally, mentally or physically­to play at the required level in October, November and even December. 'The atmosphere just wasn't the same,' Modano said. 'It was 180 degrees different.' Some of that had to do with the reshaping of the Stars' roster. Veterans Craig Ludwig, Pat Verbeek and Dave Reid were moved out to make way for youngsters.

The situation was exacerbated when the Stars ran into a surprising rash of injuries to key players such as Jere Lehtinen, Joe Nieuwendyk, Derian Hatcher, Shawn Chambers, Grant Marshall, Brian Skrudland and others. Instead of skating regularly with Lehtinen and Brett Hull, as he did for most of last season, he often found himself with Pavel Patera or Warren Luhning or Keith Aldridge. It just wasn't the same. Getting run from behind by Anaheim's Ruslan Salei (who was suspended 10 games) in the Stars' second game of the season didn't help Modano's disposition any, but the actual hit wasn't as difficult to accept as the notion that Modano and the Stars were marked men. 'Honestly, I was completely shocked at how much everyone was gunning for our team and me,' Modano said. 'That really took me by surprise.' It was something that, to varying degrees, was happening to all the Stars' veterans. But in the meantime, Hitchcock, whose off-season pledge was to not allow the 'details' to go by the wayside, was holding true to his word.

'Hitch is so demanding,' Modano said. 'I was struggling to deal with what was going on and he's right in your face all the time. He keeps pushing.' Modano was miserable. His trademark million-dollar smile was seldom seen. The games had become a chore. The practices were something worse than that. Life had become drudgery, far worse than even Modano's 11 goals, 22 points and minus-6 rating after 30 games would indicate. 'I really lost touch with the game,' Modano said. 'There was no fun it it. I knew I had to get that back.' But how?

As it turned out, it was in part circumstance, in part because of a lengthy, heart-to-heart discussion with Hitchcock while in Vancouver for a Dec. 18 game. 'The game before, in Edmonton, Derian (Hatcher) went down with his (leg) injury and I was given the ŒC' for the next eight weeks,' Modano said. 'That's when my sense of responsibility came back. There was some self-motivation for me. I had a responsibility to the team and myself to start leading by example.' But not before a candid session with Hitchcock. 'It was a long talk, an hour or two,' Hitchcock said. 'He was really worried about the path he was going down because he wasn't finding any joy. We talked about his focus, about enjoying the day, not getting too far ahead of himself.' 'It was a rational conversation,' added Modano. 'It was good. I did some venting because I had three months of stuff built up inside me.'

Modano went out that night and scored two goals and two assists. He had points in 12 of his next 16 games leading up to the All-Star Game in Toronto. Modano said he thoroughly enjoyed being at the All-Star Game and used his time there to refocus on how important hockey is to his life. In the 26 games since then, Modano has failed to get a point in only four of them. In the 45 games since meeting with Hitchcock in Vancouver the week before Christmas, Modano scored 27 goals, 48 points and was plus-6. 'He's as good a stopper' center as there is,' said Los Angeles coach Andy Murray. 'He's the ultimate double threat­he can shut down the other team's top line and he can score. He has become a hard man to play against. There has been a real process of maturation there.' But all the technical analysis of his game pales in comparison to what really matters. 'He's back to having an amazing passion for the game,' Hitchcock said. 'When he has that, combined with all his other attributes, he's a really dynamic player.' It wasn't easy for Modano to escape his funk. But he did it and can now laugh about it. 'It is,' Modano said, 'important to laugh.'

Really, there is little to choose between St. Louis, Dallas, Detroit and Colorado. The Blues may not be as flashy as the Stars, Wings and Avs, but we figure their time has come.