Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars are an American professional ice hockey team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. Before the beginning of 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. Ultimately, the franchise relocated to Dallas for the 1993–94 NHL season. The Stars played out of Reunion Arena from their relocation until 2001, when the team moved less than 1.5 miles into the American Airlines Center. The Stars have won seven division titles in Dallas, two President's Trophies as the top regular season team in the NHL, the Western Conference championship twice, and in 1998–99, the Stanley Cup. Joe Nieuwendyk won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs that year. Stand out players during the Stars' Stanley Cup run included goalie Ed Belfour, forwards Mike Modano, Joe Nieuwendyk, Jamie Lagenbrunner, Brett Hull, Jere Lehtinen, Dave Reid, Mike Keane, Pat Verbeek, Guy Carbonneau, defensemen Sergei Zubov, Darryl Sydor, Richard Matvichuk, Craig Ludwig, and the first American-born captain of a Stanley Cup winning team, Derian Hatcher. In 2009, Brett Hull became the first Dallas Stars player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, followed by Ed Belfour and Joe Nieuwendyk in 2011. In 2000, Neal Broten (also of NCAA and Miracle on Ice fame) was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. His "7" jersey was retired by the Stars in 1998. In 2010, brothers Derian and Kevin Hatcher were inducted to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. The club's former 1st overall draft pick (1988), Mike Modano, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014 --following his induction into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, the United States Hockey Hall of Fame and the retirement of his "9" jersey by the Dallas Stars. Modano retired as the all-time American-born scoring leader.