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, and 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. Eventually, the franchise relocated to Dallas for the 1993–94 NHL season where the team was rebranded as the Dallas Stars. The Stars played out of Reunion Arena located in downtown Dallas from their relocation in 1993 until 2001, when the team moved less than 1.5 miles (2.4 km) into the American Airlines Center located in the nearby Victory Park neighborhood of Dallas, an arena they share with the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Reunion Arena was the first home for the Stars in Dallas. The arena was the Stars' home from 1993 to 2001.
The Stars made several moves to revamp the roster in the 1996 off-season, notably making a trade to acquire Sergei Zubov. He remained on the team until he left the league in 2009.
Joe Nieuwendyk helped the Stars win their first Stanley Cup in 1999. Nieuwendyk was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy for that year's playoffs.
Marty Turco was awarded the starting goaltender position in the 2002–03 season, with the departure of Ed Belfour to free agency.
The 1967 National Hockey League (NHL) expansion added six new franchises for the 1967–68 season, doubling the size of the league to 12 teams. It was the largest expansion undertaken at one time by an established major sports league and the first change in the composition of the NHL since 1942, ending the era of the Original Six.
The jerseys worn by the Los Angeles Kings (left) and California Seals upon entering the NHL in 1967
