Minnesota North Stars
The Star of the North
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for most of its history were green, yellow, gold and white. The North Stars played 2,062 regular season games and made the NHL playoffs 17 times, including two Stanley Cup Final appearances, where they were defeated by the New York Islanders in 1981 and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991. After the 1992–93 season, the franchise moved to Dallas, and the team was renamed the Dallas Stars.
- career_span
- 1984 to 1997
- teams
- ['Minnesota North Stars', 'Boston Bruins', 'St. Louis Blues']
- wins_tied_1989-90
- 31 (tied with Patrick Roy and Daren Puppa)
- all_star_game
- 44th National Hockey League All-Star Game (1993)
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
The North Stars were founded as one of six expansion teams for the 1967–68 season. The team's name derives from the state motto, 'L'Étoile du Nord', meaning 'The Star of the North'. The franchise was saved from folding in 1978 by merging with the Cleveland Barons, retaining the North Stars name and history. The team reached the Stanley Cup Final in 1981 and 1991, losing both times.
In Their Own Story
The narrative of Casey's career includes two specific, famous moments where he was scored upon that remain etched in history. The first occurred in Game 2 of the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals when Mario Lemieux split North Stars defensemen Neil Wilkinson and Shawn Chambers to score past Casey. The second memorable moment happened during the 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs while Casey was with the St. Louis Blues; Steve Yzerman scored the game-winning goal in 2OT of Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals with a long shot from the blue line. These high-stakes plays bookend his most notable playoff appearances.
Reader's Guide
The North Stars played at the Metropolitan Sports Center (Met Center) in Bloomington, Minnesota. Key early players included Bill Masterton, who scored the first goal in franchise history and later died from an on-ice injury, and goaltenders Lorne 'Gump' Worsley and Cesare Maniago. Notable later stars included Bobby Smith, Dino Ciccarelli, Neal Broten, and Brian Bellows.
Did You Know?
- Bill Masterton's death on January 15, 1968, remains the only death of a player as a result of an injury during an NHL game.
- The North Stars ended the Philadelphia Flyers' 35-game unbeaten streak with a 7–1 win on January 7, 1980.
- Tim Young scored five goals on five shots in a game on January 15, 1979, a franchise record.
- The North Stars scored 15 goals against the Winnipeg Jets on November 11, 1981, the most in an NHL game since 1944.
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