Dallas Stars
From Minnesota to Dallas: A legacy of stars.
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Stars played in Reunion Arena in downtown Dallas from 1993 to 2001, when they moved into the American Airlines Center in Dallas's nearby Victory Park neighborhood, an arena they share with the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
- Conference Alignment
- Western
- Division Status
- Pacific Rivals (Since 2013)
- Notable Playoff Series
- 2003 Semifinals, 2015 First Round
- Franchise Championships
- Stars (1999), Ducks (2007)
- Key Eras
- Mighty Ducks Era, Post-Realignment
Lore & Background
The Stars were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. Before the 1978–79 NHL season, the team merged with the Cleveland Barons after the league granted them permission due to each team's respective financial struggles. The franchise relocated to Dallas for the 1993–94 NHL season and was renamed the Dallas Stars. The Stars have won nine division titles in Dallas, two Presidents' Trophies as the top regular season team in the league, the Western Conference championship three times, and the Stanley Cup in 1999, when center Joe Nieuwendyk won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs. Over the course of the franchise's history in both Minnesota and Dallas, the team has appeared in the Stanley Cup Final five times (1981, 1991, 1999, 2000, and 2020).
In Their Own Story
The Honda Center hummed with nervous energy as the clock ticked down in Game 7. Ice chips sprayed from skates under the arena lights. A Ducks forward checked hard against the boards near Dallas territory, the stick tape fraying on his glove. The crowd held its breath. In overtime, a single pass could change everything. For one team, it was glory; for the other, another year of rebuilding. The final buzzer echoed off the glass, leaving silence in Anaheim and celebration in Dallas.
Reader's Guide
The Stars' first NHL game in Dallas was played on October 5, 1993, a 6–4 win against the Detroit Red Wings. Minnesota native Neal Broten scored the first Stars goal in Dallas. The Stars set franchise bests in wins (42) and points (97) in their first season in Dallas, qualifying for the 1994 playoffs. They swept the St. Louis Blues in the first round but lost to the eventual Western Conference Champion Vancouver Canucks in the second round. In 1995, the team was sold to businessman Tom Hicks. The source does not provide details on playoff series after 1995.
Did You Know?
- The Stars were originally the Minnesota North Stars, founded in 1967.
- The team merged with the Cleveland Barons in 1978.
- The Stars won the Stanley Cup in 1999.
- Mike Modano is the highest-scoring player in franchise history.
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