In the 1990s the Minnesota North Stars left the Land of 10,000 Lakes and moved to Dallas. The move turned out to be a good one. The Dallas Stars became one of the best teams in the NHL, winning the Stanley Cup in 1999. They have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs three times since 2008. In round one of the 2018 playoffs, they were matched up with the Nashville Predators. In round two they were matched up with the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, and what a series it was. The Stars competed in thrilling games, with the Blues winning game seven in overtime.
The Dallas Stars are anchored by 27-year-old center Tyler Seguin who finished the season with 80 points a year ago. Second on the team in points was 33-year-old right-winger Alexander Radulov with 72 points. Other key players include 30-year-old left winger Jamie Benn who had 53 points a year ago and 27-year-old defenseman John Klingberg who had 45 points a year ago. For the draft, the Stars held the 18th selection overall, which they used on defenseman Thomas Harley from Mississauga out of the Ontario Hockey League. Notable free agent signings include center Tanner Kero for two seasons and right-winger Joe Pavelski for three seasons.
The Dallas Stars had a great 2015-2016 regular season. The Stars finished the regular season with 109 points, good for the best record in the Western Conference. The playoff match-ups saw the Stars play the Minnesota Wild in round one, who they defeated in six games. However, because of the crazy unusual way the NHL sets up their playoff format, putting a lot of stock into divisional finishes instead of overall record, the top-seeded Stars were matched up against the two seed, the St. Louis Blues in round two, who defeated the Stars in seven games. This is strange because as most leagues move in the direction of throwing out divisional finish and basing everything on record, the NHL seems to be running in the other direction. The Stars had a very quiet off-season, and their biggest move was re-signing forward Jamie Benn to an 8-year contract. To begin 2016-2017, The Stars have not gotten off to the start they were looking for. Currently the Stars have just 7 points on the season, good for the third worst record in the Western Conference.
