Dallas Stars

History

1967–1993: Minnesota North Stars

The Minnesota North Stars began play in 1967 as part of the league's six-team expansion. Home games were played at the newly constructed Metropolitan Sports Center ("Met Center") in Bloomington, Minnesota. Initially successful both on the ice and at the gate, the North Stars fell victim to financial problems after several poor seasons in the mid-1970s.

In 1978, the North Stars merged with the Cleveland Barons (formerly the California Golden Seals), owned by George III and Gordon Gund. With both teams on the verge of folding, the league permitted the two failing franchises to merge. The merged team continued as the Minnesota North Stars, while the Seals/Barons franchise records were retired. However, the Gunds were the merged team's principal owners, and the North Stars assumed the Barons' place in the Adams Division in order to balance out the divisions. The merger brought with it a number of talented players, and the North Stars were revived – they reached the 1981 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost in five games to the New York Islanders. However, by the early 1990s, declining attendance and the inability to secure a new downtown revenue-generating arena led ownership to request permission to move the team to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1990. The league rejected the request and instead agreed to award an expansion franchise, the San Jose Sharks, to the Gund brothers. The North Stars were sold to a group of investors that were originally looking to place a team in San Jose, although one of the group's members, former Calgary Flames part-owner Norman Green, would eventually gain control of the team. In the 1990–91 season, the North Stars made it to the Stanley Cup Final, only to lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

After the 1990–91 season, the North Stars suffered through declining profits coupled with distraction and uncertainty caused by relocation attempts. The team's fortunes were further impeded by the terms of the settlement with the Gund brothers, in which they were permitted to take a number of North Stars players to San Jose. In their final two seasons in Minnesota, the team adopted a new logo which omitted any reference to the word "North" from "North Stars", leading many fans to anticipate the team heading south. Green explored the possibility of moving the team to Anaheim, California to play at a new arena (which is now the Honda Center) under construction, and intended to call the team the Los Angeles Stars. However, the NHL had been courted by The Walt Disney Company to grant it an expansion franchise for Anaheim's new arena. The league asked Green to cede Anaheim to a Disney-owned expansion franchise eventually known as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. In return, Green could relocate the North Stars to any other market he chose.

1993–1998: Relocation and early years in Dallas

In 1993, amid further attendance woes and bitter personal controversy, Green obtained permission from the league to move the team to Dallas, for the 1993–94 season, with the decision announced on March 10, 1993. Green was convinced by former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach that Dallas would be a suitable market for an NHL team. With the team's move to the Southern United States, Green decided to drop the "North" adjective but otherwise retained the "Stars" nickname, which in its shortened form quickly proved popular as it matched the state of Texas' official nickname as "The Lone Star State." An NHL franchise in Dallas was an experiment for the league, as at that time the Stars would be one of the three southernmost teams in the league along with two recently created expansion teams in the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers as the league's first real ventures into southern non-traditional hockey markets. The Stars would move into Reunion Arena, built in 1980, the downtown arena already occupied by the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks.

To quell the ensuing controversy surrounding the North Stars move to Dallas, the NHL promised that the Twin Cities would receive an expansion franchise in the near future; that promise was fulfilled in 2000 in the form of the Minnesota Wild.

With the league changing the names of the conferences and divisions that season, the newly relocated Stars were placed in the Central Division of the Western Conference, although these were essentially continuations of the Norris Division and Campbell Conference respectively, both of which the North Stars had been part of. The first NHL game in Dallas was played on October 5, 1993, and was a 6–4 win against the Detroit Red Wings. Somewhat ironically, Minnesota native Neal Broten scored the first Stars goal in Dallas. Though the Stars were relatively still low on the Dallas-Fort Worth sports pecking order upon their arrival, popularity of the team grew rapidly and the immediate success of the team on the ice, as well as Mike Modano's career-best season (50 goals, 93 points) helped spur the team's popularity in North Texas. The Stars set franchise bests in wins (42) and points (97) in their first season in Dallas, qualifying for the 1994 playoffs. The Stars further shocked the hockey world by sweeping the St. Louis Blues in the first round, but lost to the eventual Western Conference Champion Vancouver Canucks in the second round. The Stars' success in their first season along with Modano's spectacular on-ice performances, would be an integral part of the Stars' eventual franchise success in the immediate years to come.

1998–2004: Stanley Cup contention and 1999 Stanley Cup championship

In the 1998 off-season, after falling just short in the conference finals, the Stars added what they believed was the final piece toward winning a championship: star goalscoring winger Brett Hull. Hull had already had a successful career with the St. Louis Blues, with three consecutive 70-goal seasons and a Hart Memorial Trophy, but a fallout with Blues management led Hull to leave St. Louis via free agency. Additionally, this was the first season for the Stars in the Pacific Division after the 1998 NHL division re-alignment.

In the 1998–99 season, the Stars won 51 games, surpassing the 50-win mark for the first time in franchise history. They also recorded 114 points, which still stands today as a franchise record. They won their first Pacific Division by 24 points (their third consecutive division title), a second consecutive Presidents' Trophy, the Jennings Trophy as the league's top defensive team, and were awarded home-ice advantage throughout the 1999 playoffs. Winger Jere Lehtinen was also awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy.

In the first round of the playoffs, Dallas faced the Edmonton Oilers. The Stars swept the Oilers in four close games, winning game 4 in the third overtime on a goal by Joe Nieuwendyk. They then faced the St. Louis Blues in the second round. After taking a 2–0 series lead, the Blues came back to tie the series. The Stars then won the next two games to beat the Blues in six games. The series again ended on an overtime goal, this time in game 6 from Mike Modano. In the conference finals, they faced the Colorado Avalanche for the first time in Stars playoff history. This would be the first of four playoff meetings between the Stars and Avalanche in the next seven years. After both the Stars and the Avalanche split the first four games at a 2–2 series tie, the Avalanche won game 5 by a score of 7–5, taking a 3–2 series lead, The Stars rallied winning game six on the road, and game 7 at home, both by 4–1 scorelines.

This was the Stars' first Stanley Cup Final appearance as the Dallas Stars, although they made the final series twice as the Minnesota North Stars. They faced the Eastern Conference champion Buffalo Sabres, who had defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–1 in the conference finals. After splitting the first four games, the Stars vaunted defense would hold the Sabres to only one goal in the next two, winning game 5 2–0 and game 6 2–1 on a triple-overtime goal by Brett Hull. Hull's goal at 14:51 of the third overtime was allowed to stand only after a lengthy official review. That season, the league still had the "crease rule" in effect, which provided that if any player of the attacking team who did not have possession of the puck entered the crease before the puck, then any resulting goal was disallowed. Hull had initially gained possession of the puck outside the crease and had made a shot that was blocked by Buffalo goaltender Dominik Hašek. One of Hull's skates entered the crease as he corralled the rebound, and Hull's second shot scored the Cup-winning goal. The goal was eventually allowed, as having simply blocked Hull's shot rather than catching it, Hašek never took possession of the puck away from Hull. Officials therefore determined that rather than calling it a loose puck, Hull would be considered to have had continuous possession of the puck from before his first shot outside the crease. The complexity of the crease rule, and the attendant difficulties in understanding its application by fans and players alike, combined with the controversy arising out of the disputed Stanley Cup-winning goal, resulted in the crease rule being repealed the following season. Hull's goal marked the 13th time a Stanley Cup-winning goal was scored in overtime, and only the fourth to be scored in multiple overtimes. This was the only time between 1995 and 2003 that a team other than the New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche or Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup.

2005–2011: Early years of the post-lockout era

Coming out of the owners' lockout that cancelled the entire 2004–05 season, the Stars remained one of the strongest teams in the Western Conference for the start of 2005–06, as they won four of their first five games on the way to a solid October. November would be even better for Dallas, as they won 10 of 13 games and took over first place in the Pacific Division, a position they would hold most of the season, as they went on to finish with a terrific record of 53–23–6. One reason for the Stars' success was their strong play in shootouts, as forward Jussi Jokinen was nearly automatic, making 10-of-13 shot attempts. Also performing strongly in shootouts was Sergei Zubov, who used a slow-but-steady backhand to go 7-for-12, as the Stars ultimately won 12 of 13 games that were settled by a shootout. As the number two seed in the Western Conference, the Stars faced the seventh-seeded Colorado Avalanche. The Stars were favorited to win the Western Conference, and some even predicted them to win the Stanley Cup. However, the Stars would stumble right from the start, losing game 1 by a score of 5–2 as the Avalanche scored five unanswered goals after the Stars jumped out to a promising 2–0 lead. Game 2 would see the Stars suffer another setback at home, as the Stars lost in overtime 5–4 on a goal by Joe Sakic. On the road in game 3, the Stars led 3–2 in the final minute before the Avalanche forced overtime on a goal by Andrew Brunette, while Alex Tanguay won the game just 69 seconds into overtime to put the Stars in a 3–0 hole. The Stars would avoid the sweep with a 4–1 win in game 4, but overtime would doom them again in game 5, as Andrew Brunette scored the series winner at 6:05, ending the Stars' playoffs hopes after just five games.

Following the previous season's disappointing first-round playoff loss at the hands of the seventh-seeded Avalanche, the Stars made a number of changes during the 2006 off-season. Former Stars goalkeeper Andy Moog was promoted to assistant general manager for player development (he kept his job as goaltending coach) and former player Ulf Dahlén was hired as an assistant coach. The Stars allowed center Jason Arnott, defenseman Willie Mitchell and goaltender Johan Hedberg to leave as free agents. Forward Niko Kapanen was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers and the remaining two years on fan-favorite right winger Bill Guerin's contract were bought out. The Stars also received Patrik Štefan and Jaroslav Modrý in the Atlanta trade, and signed Eric Lindros, Jeff Halpern, Matthew Barnaby and Darryl Sydor as free agents. Young goaltender Mike Smith was promoted to the NHL to serve as Marty Turco's backup. During the season, key future pieces – center Mike Ribeiro and defenseman Mattias Norström – were added through separate trades. Young players Joel Lundqvist, Krys Barch, Nicklas Grossmann and Chris Conner all saw significant ice time while other players were out of the lineup with injuries.

2011–present: Arrival of Tom Gaglardi and "Victory Green" era

To start the 2011 off-season, according to Darren Dreger of TSN, the team had been "financially managed" by the league for over a year. On June 16, 2011, Dallas hired Glen Gulutzan to be head coach, making him the sixth coach since the franchise's move from Minnesota. On September 13, 2011, lenders voted to agree to have the Stars file for bankruptcy and sold at auction. On September 21, 2011, Mike Modano announced his retirement from the league. By October 22, 2011, competing bids to buy the club were due. Vancouver businessman and Kamloops Blazers owner Tom Gaglardi's bid was the only one submitted, clearing the way for him to enter the final stages of taking over ownership of the team. Gaglardi's purchase was approved by the NHL Board of Governors on November 18, 2011. A bankruptcy court judge approved the bid for an enterprise value of $240 million. First lien creditors got about 75 cents on the dollar. The Stars lost $38 million during their last fiscal year and $92 million over the last three seasons.

As the new owner, Gaglardi's first move was bringing back former Stars President Jim Lites to once again take the reins as team president and CEO. To begin the 2011–12 season, the Stars once again jumped out to a fast start, going 23-17-1 through the first 41 games of the season. However, when the second half of the season began, the Stars slumped through the months of January and February, before getting hot again in late February. Throughout March, the Stars regained the lead of the Pacific Division. Beginning on March 26, 2012, the Stars embarked on a western road trip that saw them visit the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks. Going into the road trip, the Stars were in control of their own destiny, having to gain four points on the road trip to win their first Pacific Division title since the 2005–06 season. After the Stars lost 5–4 in Calgary to the Flames on March 26, the Stars beat the Oilers two nights later, 3–1. This would be their last win of the season, as the Stars were rolled over by the Canucks and Sharks the next two games. The Stars were eliminated from playoff contention on April 5 in a 2–0 loss to the playoff-bound Nashville Predators. Despite a winning record once again of 42–35–5 record, the team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year missing the 2012 playoffs by six points, setting a franchise record for consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance.

On July 1, 2012, the team signed free agent veterans Jaromír Jágr, Ray Whitney, and Aaron Rome. The next day, the Stars traded fan-favorite Steve Ott and Adam Pardy to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for center Derek Roy. When the 2012–13 NHL lockout ended in January 2013 and a 48-game season began the Stars embarked on an up-and-down season, though staying in the race for one of the eight Western Conference playoff spots most of the shortened season. In mid-season, forward Michael Ryder was traded to his former team, the Montreal Canadiens, for Erik Cole. This shocked many as Ryder has become an almost overnight fan-favorite to Stars fans in his time with Dallas thanks to his stellar 35-goal campaign the previous season in 2011–12. Before the trade deadline in early April, the Stars began to falter and team captain Brenden Morrow was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins; Roy was traded to the Vancouver Canucks; Jágr to the Boston Bruins; and Tomáš Vincour to the Colorado Avalanche to close out the NHL trade deadline, all in exchange for draft picks and prospects. After all of the trades at the trade deadline, the Stars' remaining young players pulled together to win six of their next eight games, thus propelling the Stars back into the 2013 playoff race. However, the Stars would drop their final five games, losing all of them while gaining only one point, eliminating them from playoff contention. The Stars had now missed the playoffs for the five straight seasons, continuing to set the all-time record for the franchise (dating back to the franchise's history in Minnesota) for most consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance.

Team information

Arena

When the Stars first moved from Minnesota, they played in Reunion Arena, which they shared with the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks. For hockey, Reunion Arena held 17,001 for NHL games. Throughout the hockey history of Reunion Arena, the arena was known for having one of the worst ice surfaces in the league, especially in its final days hosting the Stars. The Stars played at Reunion for eight years, from 1993 to 2001. Before the 2001–02 NHL season, both the Stars and the Mavericks moved into the new American Airlines Center, which is in the Victory Park neighborhood of Dallas, just north of Reunion Arena. American Airlines Center holds 18,584 for Stars and NHL games. On January 24, 2007, the AAC hosted the 2007 National Hockey League All-Star Game. The AAC and the Dallas Stars have won several local and NHL awards for the "Best Fan Experience".

Broadcast

All Dallas Stars games are broadcast on radio on KTCK and its FM simulcast under a five-year deal announced in January 2009. KTCK replaced WBAP, which had broadcast games since the beginning of the 1994 season after KLIF has broadcast the first season in Dallas in 1993. Television coverage occurs on Victory+, after terminating their deal with Bally Sports Southwest.

The Stars, along with the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes are one of only three NHL teams to simulcast the entirety of their games on TV and radio, which the team has done since their 1993 arrival in Dallas. The original broadcast team from 1993 to 1996 was Mike Fornes (play-by-play) and Ralph Strangis (color). Fornes left the broadcast team after the 1995–96 season; Strangis moved to the play-by-play role and color commentator Daryl "Razor" Reaugh was added. Although both the DFW area's large media market and the team's fan base could theoretically support separate television and radio broadcast teams, the Stars have continued simulcasting due to the popularity of "Ralph and Razor" (as they are known) among local listeners and viewers. Like most professional teams, the Stars also transmit the play-by-play on a low-power station inside American Airlines Center on 97.5 FM to avoid the broadcast delay caused by sending the network's audio to KTCK, then to its AM and FM transmitters, along with the station's AM radio signal being overwhelmed by the arena's overall electronics.

Strangis retired from the booth after the 2014–15 season and was replaced by Dave Strader. In June 2016, Strader was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a fairly rare and aggressive form of cancer of the bile duct. To begin the 2016–17 season, Reaugh assumed play-by-play duties while Strader underwent treatment. Studio analyst and former Stars defenseman, Craig Ludwig, took over as color commentator. During a break in Strader's treatment, he returned to the broadcast booth on February 18, 2017, a 4–3 overtime home win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. After the game, the Stars saluted Strader at center ice. On October 1, 2017, Strader died of cancer at age 62, leaving Reaugh and Ludwig to call the 2017–18 season. In July 2018, the Stars announced that Reaugh would return to color commentary for the 2018–19 season, with former studio host Josh Bogorad taking over the play-by-play.

On July 3, 2024, Diamond Sports Group, the owner of Bally Sports Southwest agreed to terminate their contract with the Stars. Five days later, the Stars announced a deal with tech company A Parent Media Co, Inc., which would broadcast games for free on a new streaming service known as Victory+. The Stars also reached agreements with KDFI and KDFW to simulcast selected Stars games on broadcast television.

Logo and jersey design

When they debuted in Dallas for the 1993–94 season, they kept the same uniform design from their later Minnesota days, except for the addition of the Texas logo patch on the shoulders. Away uniforms were black and home uniforms were white. With minor trim changes, a darker shade of green, and the word 'Dallas' added in the 1994–95 season, they kept this original design until after their 1999 Stanley Cup-winning campaign. During this time the black pants included the word "Dallas" in gold run through the sides with green stripes.

In the 1997–98 season, the Stars introduced an alternate uniform that partly resembled those worn during the NHL All-Star Game at the time. The uniform was mostly green on top and black at the bottom, in a star-shaped design. For the 1999–2000 season, it became the primary away uniform, and was paired with a new home uniform featuring the same basic design, with white on top and green at the bottom. They kept this design until the 2006–07 season, during which the league switched color designations on home and away jerseys in the 2003–04 season. The striping was also eliminated on the black pants.

The Stars introduced an alternate jersey for the 2003–04 season that proved both embarrassing and unpopular to critics and fans. The uniform, which introduced a red as a new trim color, was black with a green bottom and featured a modern representation of the constellation Taurus topped by a trailing green star with red trail marks. However, fans and critics derided the uniform crest for its resemblance to a uterus, nicknaming it the "Mooterus." The uniform was used until the 2005–06 season.

With the switch to the Reebok Edge uniform system, the jerseys underwent a complete redesign. The home black jersey, introduced for the 2007–08 season, features the player's number on the chest and an arched 'Dallas' in white with gold trim, with the primary logo on the shoulders. The primary away jerseys, which were used from 2007 to 2010 and was used as an alternate for its final season, had the Stars logo crest in front and the uniform number on the top right, with the Texas alternate logo on the shoulders. An alternate white jersey based on the home black jersey was introduced for the 2008–09 season; they became the regular away uniforms for the 2010–11 season. The lettering is in green with gold and black trim. Both uniforms were used until the 2012–13 season.

Minor league affiliates

The Dallas Stars are presently affiliated with two minor league teams. The Texas Stars are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Dallas Stars, who after becoming unaffiliated with the Iowa Stars in 2008, did not have an AHL affiliate for the 2008–09 season. The Texas Stars began play in the AHL in the 2009–10 season as an affiliate for Dallas. They are located in Cedar Park, Texas (northwest of Austin).

In addition to their AHL affiliate, the Dallas Stars are also affiliated with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL. Based in Boise, the Steelheads play home games at the Idaho Central Arena since 2003.

Traditions

Since the 2005–06 season, national anthems are performed by Celena Rae, a Fort Worth native and a former semifinalist on American Idol. During "The Star-Spangled Banner", the fans yell the team name "stars" in the lines "whose broad stripes and bright stars" and "O say does that star spangled banner yet wave". At games, as part of the entertainment, a Kahlenberg KDT-123 fog horn sounds after every Stars goal.

When the Stars take the ice at the beginning of each game, the song "Puck Off" (also referred to as the "Dallas Stars Fight Song") by Pantera, is played in the arena. Members of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area band had become friends with members of the Stars in the 1990s, especially following the team's Stanley Cup win in 1999. "Puck Off" later also became the team's goal celebration song. During the song, fans chant the only lyrics in the song, "Dallas! Stars! Dallas! Stars!" while pumping their fists in the air. After a penalty on the opposing team is announced, Stars public address announcer shouts, "Your Dallas Stars are on...the..." with the fans finishing "power play!", immediately after which a clip of the Muse song "Knights of Cydonia" is played. After each Stars win, the Stevie Ray Vaughan (a Dallas native) and Double Trouble song "The House is a Rockin'" is played. A song of unknown origin called "The Darkness Music" is played after nearly every away goal. In recent years, fans have usually yelled, "Who cares!?" after away team goals are announced by the public address announcer.

The Stars have hosted a home game on New Year's Eve every year since 1997, except in 2004, 2012, 2019, 2020 and 2021 (the first two being due to lockouts, the third being due to their participation in the 2020 Winter Classic, the fourth being due to the delayed off-season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fifth was postponed to February 13 due to a team-wide COVID-19 outbreak). For a period of time, the game coincided with the Big D NYE celebration (now on hiatus) on the south side of the arena in AT&T Plaza.

Season-by-season record

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Stars. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Dallas Stars seasons.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Players and personnel

Current roster

Updated July 3, 2026

Team captains

Note: This list does not include former captains of the Minnesota North Stars and Oakland Seals

Hall of Famers

The Dallas Stars presently acknowledge an affiliation with a number of inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame inductees acknowledged by the Stars include 13 former players and four builders of the sport. The four individuals recognized as builders by the Hall of Fame includes former Stars executives, and head coaches. The tenure of five player inductees, and the three builders acknowledged by the Stars occurred when the franchise was based in Minnesota (1967–1993). Mike Modano is the only Hall of Fame inductee that played with the franchise before and after its relocation to Dallas.

In addition to players and builders, the Stars also acknowledge an affiliation Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Dave Strader. Providing play-by-play for the Stars, he was a recipient of the Hall of Fame's Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for his contributions in hockey broadcasting.

Players

Builders

Herb Brooks

Walter Bush

Ken Hitchcock

John Mariucci

Retired numbers

Notes:

The NHL retired Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 for all its member teams at the 2000 NHL All-Star Game.

Dallas Stars Hall of Fame

2022

Derian Hatcher

Bob Gainey

2023

Ed Belfour

Ken Hitchcock

2024

Brenden Morrow

Jim Lites

2025

Joe Nieuwendyk

Ralph Strangis

First-round draft picks

Note: This list does not include selections of the Minnesota North Stars.

Franchise records

Scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise (Minnesota and Dallas) history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

* – current Stars player

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game

Goaltending leaders

These are the top-ten goaltenders in franchise (Minnesota and Dallas) history by wins. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season.

* – current Stars player

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T/O = Ties/Overtime losses; GA = Goal against; GAA = Goals against average; SA = Shots against; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts