So much for Mike Modano spending his retirement on the beaches of Southern France. The 37-year-old center said he plans to be a hockey lifer, joking that he and Brett Hull might one day be running the Stars.

"Once you get in, you can never get out," he joked of the NHL's "family business."

But he added in a more serious tone: "It does get into your blood, and becomes your life. Yeah, I definitely see myself staying in the game when I'm done playing."

That's good news for hockey fans who might have seen Modano as a poolside retiree with a mean backswing. Truth is, Modano has always been a hockey hardliner, from his days in peewee hockey when he would suit up for a game hours ahead of time and wear his uniform around the house.

Now, approaching the 20th anniversary of his selection in the 1988 draft, Modano balances concern that he won't milk everything he can out of his career with excitement about passing Phil Housley as the all-time American-born points scorer in NHL history. He's six points behind Housley's 1,232.

The result could be a memorable season – at least, that's the way his friends would draw it up.

"There's no reason he can't have a great year. I fully expect him to have a great year," said Hull, Modano's best man at his recent wedding and golfing buddy, and a hired hockey guru for the Stars. "He keeps himself in outstanding shape. He was on top of his game last year when he was healthy. He's driven to succeed."

Hull's biggest job as special advisor to the hockey operations department might be to keep Modano on task this season, to help the franchise leader in pretty much every department unleash a game tailored for today's NHL.

"I tell him to think about scoring goals," Hull said. "I told him with the rules changes [the crackdown on hooking and holding in 2005], he should be skating hard and going to the net. With his size and his speed, nobody should be able to stop him."

Modano played in 59 games last season and led the Stars in plus-minus at plus-9 and in game-winning goals with seven. If he does dial his game up another notch, what could that mean to the Stars' push for more scoring?

"I think he touches everything we do on this team," captain Brenden Morrow said. "He makes his line better, better offensively and better defensively. When his line is going, it makes the other lines better, because the other team is so focused on everything his line is doing. Yeah, in my eyes, he's pretty much irreplaceable."

That's one reason the Stars have high hopes for their offense this season after finishing 21st in the league last season.

Modano missed 23 games last season, and linemates Jere Lehtinen and Jussi Jokinen both had disappointing statistical seasons as a result. The Stars' goal differential went from plus-0.64 to minus-.35 when Modano was out of the lineup.

This season, coach Dave Tippett appears ready to reunite his first line and let Jokinen-Modano-Lehtinen try to lead the way.

"We like what they did two years ago, and we think they can get that back," Tippett said.

But it's not as simple as just turning back the hands of the clock, because things keep changing.

Modano was married this summer to girlfriend Willa Ford, and he said he feels he's a different person because of the aging process. He has three years remaining on his contract and said he plans to fulfill them. But he said the view of retirement has made him a bit impatient.

"You get very demanding," Modano said. "You want to go out and win, and win right now. So, yeah, you start looking around and you want the best from everyone – your teammates, management, everyone. I think that's definitely there in the back of your mind."

JOHN F. RHODES / DMN

Despite missing 23 games last season, Mike Modano led the Stars in plus-minus and game-winning goals.

Modano said he has had to temper his expecations of others in order to keep from stepping on toes. He said he's hopeful team management can add a scoring presence at some point during the season, but he's not going to criticize them if they don't.

"What I say and what I do publicly is a little more scrutinized, so I'll probably keep quiet and not rock the boat," Modano said. "Everybody wanted the salary cap, and now we're trying to work around the cap and we can't get the players we want. In my mind, you can never have enough scoring."

His first push will be to try to provide that scoring himself.

The Housley milestone is one he would like to get done quickly. He's proven he's pretty good when chasing a record. Last season, while in pursuit of Joe Mullen's goal-scoring record for American-born players, Modano tallied six goals in six games to set the mark.

This season, the pursuit of Housley could lead to a fast start ... and maybe an even faster finish.

"It's a wonderful acknowledgment, and one that he deserves," Tippett said. "But I think he's looking forward to getting through it and getting on to the season."

Joel Lundqvist scored two goals, and Antti Miettinen and Niklas Hagman added one apiece, but the Stars lost to Phoenix, 6-5, Saturday at Jobing.com Arena.

Marty Turco started in goal and allowed six goals on 23 shots. The Stars will travel to Colorado Springs today and go through team-building exercises at the Air Force Academy.