Stars Win the Stanley Cup

It's a tie game, 1–1 in triple overtime.

The Dallas Stars have a 3–2 series lead on the Buffalo Sabres. The next goal either clinches the Stanley Cup or forces a decisive Game 7 back in Texas.

With 5:37 left in the third overtime, the Sabres won a clean faceoff in the neutral zone, but a pass to Miroslav Satan is intercepted by Brett Hull, who makes a pass to Jere Lehtinen as the Stars enter the zone.

It's been a long game, Lehtinen has already played more than 40 minutes, and is a step behind the pass, but still tracks it down on a forecheck, and the puck finds its way to Mike Modano. Modano can't control the puck, and as it skitters toward the Sabres net, Buffalo goalie Dominik Hasek spikes it toward the boards with a poke check.

Shawn Chambers keeps it at the boards and rims the puck around behind the net. Hull finds the puck in the left corner and leaves a backhand for Modano, who shakes off a check and leaves the puck for Lehtinen.

Lehtinen, who scored the only Stars goal so far in this game, hours ago, wins the battle for the puck and takes a sharp angle shot from above the faceoff dot.

Hasek makes the first save on a tip from Hull but can't control the rebound. It's sitting by Hull's left foot, and he kicks the puck to his blade and fires. "Stars just by Hull. Shot, Jere Lehtinen. Hull, loose puck. Hull shoots, scores! Scores! Scores! The Dallas Stars, Brett Hull, they've won the Stanley Cup! Deep in the heart of Texas the Stars are shining!"

Stars Move to Dallas

On March 10, 1993, Norm Green stood in the Dallas City Council chambers and announced he'd be bringing his NHL team to Texas.

It was a move that had been rumored for months, but it wasn't until that day and after final documents were reviewed by the city, that the Minnesota North Stars officially became the Dallas Stars.

While Texas had been home to hockey teams before and the NHL was expanding its sunbelt footprint the following season––introducing new expansion teams in California and Florida that would start play during the 1993-94 season––it was a bit of a head-scratching move.

The NHL in Texas? If it didn't work in Minnesota, the "State of Hockey" how could a team succeed in Dallas?

First you have to understand how things unraveled in Minnesota.

In the late 1980s, the North Stars were struggling financially. The North Stars' home at the time, the Met Center, was old and lacked modern conveniences that were generating profit. Suites weren't added to the Met Center until 1988, and the ownership group at the time, the Gund Brothers, wanted 45 more added at a cost of $15 million to their landlord: the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission. The proposal was voted down.

At the same time, the team was going through a bit of a public relations fiasco. Fans weren't happy when Herb Brooks, a Minnesota legend and the coach that led the Americans to the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics, was fired. Trading away Bobby Smith didn't help either.

At the same time, the corporate support had dried up. When the North Stars first entered the NHL, they were neighbors with the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Twins in Bloomington. Eventually, the Vikings and Twins moved to Minneapolis, taking much of the corporate sponsors and business with them.

By 1990 the Gunds, citing losses of more than $16 million, wanted to move the team to California. "Minnesota does not want the North Stars," Gordon Gund said at the time. "The only way you'll get Minnesota to want it is to let us leave. Then maybe two years later, they'll want an expansion franchise."

The Gunds put the team up for sale, but wouldn't sell for anything less than $50 million. It was a power play to dissuade any local investor from buying the team, which would clear the path for a move to the West Coast.

At the same time, Hollywood movie producer Howard Baldwin (well-known for Mystery, Alaska) was interested in applying for an expansion team in San Jose, California. The Gunds had San Francisco on their radar for relocation. Under league rules, NHL territorial rights were within a 50-mile radius, so there couldn't be a team in both San Francisco and San Jose.

The NHL was worried that allowing...