Minnesota North Stars was an ice hockey team that was based in Bloomington, Minnesota. North Stars was one of the six expansion teams that started playing in NHL in 1967. The franchise stayed in Minnesota until year 1993, when it was relocated in Dallas and the team was renamed to Dallas Stars. The team made it to post-season seventeen times and made it to Stanley Cup finals twice – without winning it ever.

Basic information

North Stars played their home games in Met Center, located in Bloomington, Minnesota. The capacity of the arena was 15 000 for ice hockey. Met Center was demolished after North Stars franchise moved to Dallas. The team colours of North Stars were green, gold, black and white.

A short history

During the first year in NHL, North Stars forward Bill Masterton hit his back of the head on the ice after collision and died in a hospital a couple of days later. Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded every year to his memory. North Stars gained some early success, but later on in the 1970’s the limited success together with financial hardship, North Stars franchise was merged with Cleveland Barons. The combined team continued as Minnesota North Stars.

In the 1980’s, North Stars had a steady success, being more often in the play-offs than out. They played in Stanley Cup finals in 1980-81 and 1990-91. In later series, North Stars lost the deciding game to Pittsburgh Penguins 8-0, which is one of the nastiest defeats in the final game of Stanley Cup Finals. The main owner Norm Green moved the franchise to Dallas in 1993 and sold the team three years later.

Legendary players

Neal Broten started in Minnesota in 1980-81. He played for North Stars until the end of the franchise plus two seasons in Dallas before moving to New Jersey Devils. Broten was in the team that won Olympic gold medal in 1980 Lake Placid Olympic Games. Broten played 1099 NHL regular season games during his lengthy career.

Dino Ciccarelli played in Minnesota for the most of 1980’s. Ciccarelli scored 1200 points during his long career in NHL. The Canadan-Italian winger had his rough moments on the ice, but he was always an asset for his team.

Brian Bellows spent ten seasons with the North Stars. The Canadian winger scored 99 points in his best season that was 1989-90. He also made 1000 career points in NHL. The three-time All-star team member won Stanley Cup with Montreal Canadiens in 1992-93 season.