Marty Turco -- Replacing the "Eagle"

As the "real" hockey season begins -- the playoffs, that is -- hockey fans in Dallas are wondering about one specific part of the Stars' game -- goaltending.

When the 2002-2003 regular season began, Dallas had let their starting goalie Eddie "the Eagle" Belfour go to Toronto as a free agent.

(To be honest, though, he kind of wore out his welcome in "Big D".)

Stars' fans wondered how his replacement, Marty Turco, would fare as a starting goaltender.

However, since a goalie is only as good as the players in front of him, and the players in front of Turco happen to be the best in the hockey business, the fans didn't have to wonder for long.

Right now Turco might be considered one of the finalists for the Vezina Trophy, which is given out to the best goaltender in the league. And the only reason he only "might" be, is because he missed 18 games due to an ankle sprain. Otherwise, he should definitely be considered a finalist.

While winning the Vezina might be nice, Turco, who was a standout goalie while playing for the University of Michigan Wolverines hockey team, would like nothing better than to win a Stanley Cup.

While Turco hasn't had any NHL playoff experience, he did get playoff experience at Michigan, as the Wolverines made it to the "Frozen Four," which is college hockey's version of "March Madness." And with Turco in net, the maize and blue won the NCAA hockey championship in 1996 and 1998.

One can't compare the Stanley Cup playoffs with college hockey playoffs, but Turco is ready.

At the end of this season, Turco will become a free agent. However, Dallas fans probably won't have to worry if he will leave, as money is no object when your team is owned by the same man who also owns the Texas Rangers. And you can bet that the Stars are going to do their best to hold onto him.

In the next few years or so, he might just make Dallas Stars' fans forget he was replacing an "Eagle."