Top 50 Dallas Stars
Entering the National Hockey League in the first wave of expansion in 1967, the Dallas Stars were originally the Minnesota North Stars, bringing the professional game to what is arguably the most hockey-rich state in the United States.
The Minnesota North Stars would struggle in the same way as other National Hockey League expansion teams, but in 1981, they would make the Stanley Cup playoffs despite having a subpar record. They would again appear in the Finals in 1991 as the underdogs and would lose, although they would remain very popular in their state.
Despite the North Stars being in Minnesota, the economics did not work, and the franchise would relocate south to Texas. Now named the Dallas Stars, the franchise would win its first and to date only Stanley Cup in 1999. Although hockey did not seem right in Texas, the Stars would become bona fide draws in the region.
Note: Hockey lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and postseason accolades.
This list is up to the end of the 2024-25 Season.
This was very easy. Not only is Mike Modano the most incredible Dallas Star of all time, but he is also one of the best American-born players in the history of the sport.
Sergei Zubov accomplished quite a lot in the National Hockey League yet is it safe to say that he has been slightly undervalued?
What a gem of a 5th Round Pick Jamie Benn has turned out to be!
An excellent stickhandling Goalie, Marty Turco played nine seasons with Dallas after being an elite NCAA player with the Michigan Wolverines. Turco would have a 262-154-63 record with Dallas and never had a losing season, and would also twice lead the NHL in Goals Against Average and Save Percentage, the…
As of this writing, Tyler Seguin has completed 11 seasons for the Dallas Stars, which is befitting of a former second overall draft pick. Dallas didn’t initially draft Seguin, as he was acquired through a trade from Boston; however, from what he has accomplished thus far in the Lone Star…
The younger brother of U.S. Hockey Hall of Famer Kevin Hatcher, Derian Hatcher was the leader of the Stars' defensive corps for years.
A member of the famed U.S. 1980 Olympic Gold Medal-winning team, Neal Broten would later make history as the first American-born player to crack the 100 Point total in a season. Arguably one of the best American players of the 1980s, Broten would score 867 Points over his Minnesota/Dallas career…
In the late 1990s, the Dallas Stars put together a defensive unit that propelled them into contenders for the Stanley Cup, a trophy they would win in 1999. Darryl Sydor was a member of that “big four” of blueliners (also including Sergei Zubov, Derian Hatcher, and Richard Matvichuk). While playing…
From undrafted to the Hockey Hall of Fame. How can you not love the story of Dino Ciccarelli? Luckily for the Minnesota North Stars, they signed him after everyone in the draft passed over him.
There was a lot of pressure on Brian Bellows, who entered the National Hockey League as the second overall pick in the 1982 Draft. The North Stars traded a lot to move up to get him, and some had compared him to Wayne Gretzky.
With the exception of a year playing for the Birmingham Bulls in the World Hockey Association, Craig Hartsburg played his entire professional career with the Minnesota North Stars. In those ten seasons, he was the team captain for seven of them, providing dependable two-way hockey from the blueline position. Hartsburg…
After three uneventful seasons with the Boston Bruins, where he struggled to find playing time, Bill Goldsworthy first made heads turn in the 1967-68 postseason, where he led in Goals and Points. Now a bona fide starter with the North Stars, Goldsworthy would net 30 or more Goals in six…
One of the most prolific defensive forwards in modern hockey, Jere Lehtinen was a three-time winner of the Frank J. Selke Trophy and a runner-up for the award once. Lehtinen’s entire NHL career was spent with the Dallas Stars, tallying 514 Points with a Plus/Minus of 176. A vital part…
An excellent two-way player who played 835 of his 991 Games in the NHL with the Dallas Stars, Brenden Morrow was one of the top locker room leaders in franchise history. Morrow would take over the captaincy from Mike Modano, and while he wasn’t the scorer that Modano was, he…
The number one draft pick in 1978 did not disappoint, as Bobby Smith would promptly win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. Smith would prove to be an excellent playmaker tallying over 70 Points in his first five seasons as a North Star. This included a 114 Point…
From Sweden, John Klingberg was an Alternate Captain of the Dallas Stars who averaged at least two-thirds of a point per Game as a Star. Klingberg won the World Hockey Championship with Sweden in 2017 and has scored 40 Points or more in his first five seasons in the NHL,…
Prior to arriving in Dallas, Joe Nieuwendyk was already a proven winner with the Calgary Flames. In Calgary, he was a Calder Trophy Winner, a King Clancy Winner, a two-time 50 Goal scorer, and a Stanley Cup Champion. He would repeat the latter with Dallas.
Kari Lehtonen may not have had the playoff success that other Dallas Stars Goalies have had, but he hasn’t exactly had the support that other franchise backstops have enjoyed either.
Mike Ribiero had a long career in the National Hockey League, the center of which was with the Dallas Stars. It was also the best part of his career.
Dave Gagner would prove to blossom as a Minnesota North Star, where he would score 70 points five seasons in a row. The move to Dallas saw Gagner net another 60 Point season. The decade that Gagne spent as a North Star/Star was by far the most productive of his…