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'It's a hard lesson': Former Dallas Stars players open up about what it's like to play for Ken Hitchcock

Mike Modano wasn't the biggest fan of Ken Hitchcock back when the two were player and coach, but a lot has changed since then.

Modano said that finding success under Hitchcock, who is expected to be announced Thursday as the Stars' next head coach, helped change his attitude.

"We're actually good friends now, we talk all the time," Modano said from his Arizona home Wednesday morning. "You learn as you get older."

Modano said current Stars players will also learn under Hitchcock, but that it will be a battle. When Hitchcock came to Dallas back in 1996, he had strong ideas about how Modano should be used.