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The unofficial Dallas Stars information sheet
**Club Background**: Originally founded as the Minnesota North Stars in 1967, but relocated to Dallas in 1993 because their owner (Norm Green) essentially pissed off and alienated the entire state of Minnesota. Tom Hicks purchased the team in 1995, he grew the business side admirably of team while giving [Bob Gainey](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Gainey) (general manager of the Stars and a hockey legend in his own right) free rein to sign, draft and hire the necessary players and personnel to build a successful team. **Dallas Stars in the 1990s**: In general, hockey in the 90s was significantly different from the game you see today (look into the [2004-2005 lockout](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004%E2%80%9305_NHL_lockout) and the resulting rule changes for more information) but it was, essentially, a tougher and more defensive game than you see today, and the Stars emphasized this mentality. As for the team, let's start off with the original poster boy, [Mike Modano](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Modano). The second American ever to be a #1 draft pick (1988), he was the face of the franchise and it's difficult to imagine hockey achieving the same popularity here in Dallas without him. The club worked hard to promote the game and expand awareness into the metroplex, but Modano was the flair that brought a lot of people in. 1995-1996 was when the team started getting really good. Bob Gainey (the GM) brought in several impact players - namely [Guy Carbonneau](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Carbonneau), [Joe Nieuwendyk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Nieuwendyk) and [Sergei Zubov](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Zubov). It was the year after that [Ed Belfour](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Belfour) was signed, who provided the elite goalie services that almost every successful team needs. And then it was the year after that (1998) when [Brett Hull](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brett_Hull) was signed, one of the best snipers of all time. On the homegrown draft pick side of the team, [Derian Hatcher](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derian_Hatcher) and [Jere Lehtinen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jere_Lehtinen) are probably the two most notable (besides Modano) but [Jamie Langenbrunner](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Langenbrunner) and [Richard Matvichuk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Matvichuk) were also two important members of the team to come from the historically strong drafting of Bob Gainey. Head Coach [Ken Hitchcock](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Hitchcock) also instilled defensive discipline into all of his players, notably a very offensive-minded Modano, which helped lead the way to a powerhouse two-way team. **1999**: Oh what a glorious season. The Stars had lost a close one to the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference finals the season before, partly because that asshole Bryan Marchment (of Edmonton) had obliterated most of the ligaments in Nieuwendyk's right knee. Edmonton was a huge rival in the 90s, and it seemed we faced them almost every year in the playoffs. 1999 was no different, and the Stars swept the Oilers with Joe Nieuwendyk getting sweet revenge by scoring the game winning goal in triple overtime. I remember punching my sister in happiness watching that game on TV, which serves her right for falling asleep. The Stars went on to play the Blues in the next round and Colorado in the next in some equally memorable games, eventually advancing to the Stanley Cup finals to play the Buffalo Sabres. Oh sweet mama jesus, I still get chills thinking about the playoff series. [Reunion Arena](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reunion_Arena) (oh how I miss the old barn...) seemed like a veritable madhouse. It was a very tight series, with the Stars and the Sabres trading games back and forth. Dallas managed to break serve in Game 3 however, so by Game 6 they were up 3-2 in the series. Still tied 1-1 at regulation, the Stars and the Sabres went all the way to triple overtime before Brett Hull scored on a [VERY controversial](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Stanley_Cup_Finals#.22No_Goal.22) goal, which was ruled in the Stars favor. Derian Hatcher became the first American to ever captain an NHL team to a Stanley Cup and Joe Nieuwendyk was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. **2000 and onward**: The 5-6 years after the emotional orgasm of the Stanley Cup win exists as a sort of Dark Ages for the Stars, at least in my mind. This is a bit unfair, as the Stars still played well and actually returned to the Stanley Cup Finals the next year, though they ended up losing to a very strong New Jersey Devils. In the next season, the Stars only got to the conference semifinals, and the year after (2002) they didn't even qualify for the playoffs. [Dave Tippett](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Tippett) would replace Ken Hitchcock as head coach. The Stars made some trades and signings to bring back the magic, but it nothing ever really manifested from that. Personally, I'm still pissed at the Nieuwendyk/Langenbrunner trade to the Devils for Jason Arnott and some other dude, which has always seemed too lopsided for me. In one of the few bright moments for the Stars, [Marty Turco](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marty_Turco) set an NHL record for best GAA in his first season as a starter (taking over for Belfour, who left as a free agent in the off season) though that record would end up getting broken by Calgary's Miika Kiprusoff the very next year. In 2003, Derian Hatcher ended up leaving as a free agent, and Mike Modano became the new captain for the Stars. **2004-2005**: The season never happened due to the lockout, and that sucked a lot. **2005-2006**: I don't remember much from this season. The whole league was getting used to the new rule changes and the Stars were decent on paper, but they put in a very ?meh? performance in the playoffs, getting beat in the first round by Colorado. **2006-2007**: [Brenden Morrow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenden_Morrow) was given the C, the Stars made a trade for [Mike Ribeiro](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Ribeiro), and the team would get bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Canucks in a very defensive series. **2007-2008**: Doug Armstrong (the GM who had taken over for Bob Gainey in 2003) was fired midway through the season, and was replaced by the unique combo of Co-general managers, Les Jackson and Brett Hull. Brett Hull had retired in 2005 and the Stars had hired him to the front office, but he was never really the front office type. Les Jackson was a respected hockey man and the assistant general manager at the time, but ownership decided having two GMs was a better idea. For awhile, things were good: Mike Modano became the top American point scorer of all time and the Stars acquired [Brad Richards](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Richards) at the deadline. Playing hard as an underdog, Dallas surprised pretty much everyone (including myself) by making it to the Western Conference finals before getting beat by the eventual Stanley Cup winning team, the Detroit Red Wings. **2008-2009**: Everything got flip-turned upside down. Brett Hull pushed the signing of that jackass Sean Avery, which I blame for bringing the ire of the hockey gods upon us and wrecking that season. Morrow tore his ACL, Brad Richards broke both his wrists and Zubov missed about half the season due to being old, which all resulted in the Stars missing the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Thankfully, they got rid of Avery midway through the season and he's now with New York. After the end of the season, Sergei Zubov was not resigned and is now playing in the Russian KHL. **2009-2010**: The summer before the season started, the Stars fired the Co-GMs and brought in Joe Nieuwendyk (he had since retired) to be the new GM. He fired Tippett and brought in Marc Crawford and new assistant coaches including [Stu Barnes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stu_Barnes). There were some high hopes for the season, but the team struggled to adapt to Crawford's new system and financial troubles prevented them from signing or trading for better players. Again, we missed the playoffs. However, the Stars traded for Kari Lehtonen (our current goalie) in the spring of 2010, and Marty Turco was let go as a free agent that summer, as well as Mike Modano. These were tough, emotional decisions, as both players were well-liked both within the club and by the fans... it makes sense on paper, which is why Nieuwy did it, but it was still painful at the time. Meanwhile, [Adam Burish](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Burish) was brought in from the Chicago Blackhawks (who had just won the Cup) to provide added grit and experience. **2010-2011**: Our current season, and things are looking good. The Stars seem to be comfortable with Crawford's system, team chemistry looks strong and everyone looks more or less healthy. Jamie Langenbrunner was returned back to the Stars recently in a trade and appears to be fitting in well. The past couple years saw a young and inexperienced defense that was inconsistent and weak at times, but they have since developed into a solid and dependable defensive corp. Even [Matt Niskanen](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Niskanen) - long a target of the fans for his seemingly high potential but weak play - is looking much better than years previous. [James Neal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Neal_(hockey_player) and [Jamie Benn](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Benn) are two strong, young wingers with a nose for the goal, and [Loui Eriksson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loui_Eriksson) seems to be really hitting his prime as shown in his recent all star game nomination. I'll probably add to this and edit things in and around to make it better, but I wanted to make sure I could get this out and finished this afternoon. Hope you enjoy! more