Everything the Dallas Stars have done in recent years indicates they want to be a more aggressive team on offense.

They have changed their draft philosophy to go after more skilled players.

They have changed their summer prospect camps from "compete" drills to "skill" drills.Their prospects won the Traverse City tournament last month with an attacking style that forced opposing teams onto their heels.

And after a season in which several players posted career-best numbers, there is a hunger to push the goal-scoring bar even higher.

"Why wouldn't you want to score?" captain Brenden Morrow said. "That's the fun part."

But are the Stars, who open their season at home tonight, positioned to go cliff-diving into a sea of pucks and red lights, or are they merely trying to dip their toe into the wading pool? Well, that depends on how hot or cold things get.

"We're trying to put together a team that can be creative offensively, but it's a process that requires some patience," said Brett Hull, one of the team's two general managers. "You can't just snap your fingers and change everything."

Hull, the loquacious leader of all things offensive for the Stars, admits they are doing the little things to allow players to express themselves. And the players say they appreciate it.

"What is great about being here is they push me to do more with the puck," said center Mike Ribeiro, who led the Stars with 83 points last season – 18 more than his previous best, in Montreal. "They want me to take chances as long as they're smart chances."

And that's the key to the Stars' master plan, said Les Jackson, Hull's GM partner.

"It's all about balance," Jackson said. "We give a player like Mike Ribeiro the chance to be creative, but we ask him to be responsible defensively in return. I think if you watch him, you'll see he's doing both."

That's a philosophy coach Dave Tippett said he has embraced since leading the Houston Aeros to the International Hockey League championship in 1999. His team that season led the league in goals scored and goals against.

And while the Stars under Tippett have a history of being much better defensively than offensively, he said the rules instituted after the 2004-05 lockout have pushed teams to be more aggressive.

"If you look at the rules that were put in place at the time, they were created to reward teams that wanted possession of the puck, that wanted to make intelligent plays that created offensive opportunities," Tippett said. "So we have been moving in that direction."

In addition to obtaining players such as Brad Richards through trades, the Stars drafted high-scoring winger Jamie Benn and signed highly touted free-agent Fabian Brunnstrom, showing their willingness to acquire skill in several ways.

But as much as the Stars expect creative thinking from Ribiero, Richards and Mike Modano, they also expect defensive defensemen Nicklas Grossman and Mark Fistric to be comfortable with the puck.

"I just think we need to let players show their skill and create scoring chances," Hull said. "You have to build a championship team from the goalie forward, so that's our focus. But we think a big part of a winning team is an aggressive offensive attitude, so we're doing everything we can to get that, too."

The Stars have been a consistently strong defensive team in the Dave Tippett era, but they have been less consistent in the goal-scoring department. Here are their offensive and defensive totals in that span.

Season opener: Columbus at Stars, 7:30 p.m. today, American Airlines Center (FSNSW)

Career bests posted by some Dallas Stars last season:

Mike Ribeiro: Goals (27), Assists (56), Points (83)

Brenden Morrow: Goals (32), Assists (42), Points (74)

Stephane Robidas: Goals (9), Assists (17), Points (26)

Trevor Daley: Goals (5), Assists (19), Points (24)

Steve Ott: Goals (11), Points (22)