DAL Stars

The Minnesota North Stars began play in 1967 as part of the league's six-team expansion. Home games were played at the newly constructed Metropolitan Sports Center ("Met Center") in Bloomington, Minnesota. Initially successful both on the ice and at the gate, the North Stars fell victim to financial problems after several poor seasons in the mid-1970s.

In 1978, the North Stars merged with the Cleveland Barons (formerly the California Golden Seals), owned by George III and Gordon Gund. With both teams on the verge of folding, the league permitted the two failing franchises to merge. The merged team continued as the Minnesota North Stars, while the Seals/Barons franchise records were retired. However, the Gunds were the merged team's principal owners, and the North Stars assumed the Barons' place in the Adams Division in order to balance out the divisions. The merger brought with it a number of talented players, and the North Stars were revived—they reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1981, where they lost in five games to the New York Islanders. However, by the early 1990s, declining attendance and the inability to secure a new downtown revenue-generating arena led ownership to request permission to move the team to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1990. The league rejected the request and instead agreed to award an expansion franchise, the San Jose Sharks, to the Gund brothers. The North Stars were sold to a group of investors that were originally looking to place a team in San Jose, although one of the group's members, former Calgary Flames part-owner Norman Green, would eventually gain control of the team. In the following season, the North Stars made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, only to lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

After the 1990–91 season, the North Stars suffered through declining profits coupled with distraction and uncertainty caused by relocation attempts. The team's fortunes were further impeded by the terms of the settlement with the Gund brothers, in which they were permitted to take a number of North Stars players to San Jose. In their final two seasons in Minnesota, the team adopted a new logo which omitted any reference to the word "North" from "North Stars", leading many fans to anticipate the team heading south. Green explored the possibility of moving the team to Anaheim to play at a new arena (which is now the Honda Center) under construction, and intended to call the team the Los Angeles Stars. However, in 1992 the league decided to award an expansion franchise to The Walt Disney Company to play in Anaheim's new arena, this franchise eventually became the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

In 1993, amid further attendance woes and bitter personal controversy, Green obtained permission from the league to move the team to Dallas, for the 1993–94 season, with the decision announced on March 10, 1993. Green was convinced by former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach that Dallas would be a suitable market for an NHL team. With the team's move to the Southern United States, Green decided to drop the "North" adjective but otherwise retained the "Stars" nickname, which in its shortened form quickly proved popular as it matched the state of Texas' official nickname as "The Lone Star State." An NHL franchise Dallas was an experiment for the league, as at that time the Stars would be one of the three southernmost teams in the league along with two recently created expansion teams in the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers as the league's first real ventures into southern non-traditional hockey markets. The Stars would move into Reunion Arena, built in 1980, the downtown arena already occupied by the National Basketball Association's Dallas Mavericks.

To quell the ensuing controversy surrounding the North Stars move to Dallas, the NHL promised that the Twin Cities would receive an expansion franchise in the near future; that promise was fulfilled in 2000 in the form of the Minnesota Wild.

With the league changing the names of the conferences and divisions that season, the newly relocated Stars were placed in the Central Division of the Western Conference, although these were essentially continuations of the Norris Division and Campbell Conference respectively, both of which the North Stars had been part of. The first NHL game in Dallas was played on October 5, 1993, and was a 6–4 win against the Detroit Red Wings. Somewhat ironically, Minnesota native Neal Broten scored the first Stars goal in Dallas. Though the Stars were relatively still low on the Dallas-Fort Worth sports pecking order upon their arrival, popularity of the team grew rapidly and the immediate success of the team on the ice, as well as Mike Modano's career-best season (50 goals, 93 points) helped spur the team's popularity in North Texas. The Stars set franchise bests in wins (42) and points (97) in their first season in Dallas, qualifying for the 1994 playoffs. The Stars further shocked the hockey world by sweeping the St. Louis Blues in the first round, but lost to the eventual Western Conference Champion Vancouver Canucks in the second round. The Stars' success in their first season along with Modano's spectacular on-ice performances, would be an integral part of the Stars' eventual franchise success in the immediate years to come.

The almost immediate success of the Stars was also helped by the long legacy of minor-league hockey in the area. Both incarnations of the Central Hockey League had two teams in the area, the Dallas Black Hawks and the Fort Worth Texans for years before the Stars' arrival. Amateur and youth hockey in North Texas were also extremely popular because of the long presence of the minor league teams.

The 1994–95 season was shortened by an owners' lockout. The Stars traded captain Mark Tinordi along with Rick Mrozik to the Washington Capitals before the season began for Kevin Hatcher. Longtime North Stars hold-over Neal Broten was named his replacement, although he was traded too after only 17 games to the New Jersey Devils. Broten was replaced by Kevin's younger brother Derian Hatcher as team captain, a role he would serve in for the next decade. The Stars played only 48 games that season posting a record of 17–23–8. Despite the shortened season and the losing record, the Stars again made the playoffs, losing in five games to the Red Wings in the first round. Green, who had run into financial problems stemming from his business ventures outside of ice hockey, was forced to sell the team to businessman Tom Hicks in December 1995.

The 1995–96 season would be the first season under new owner Tom Hicks. In the off-season, the Stars traded for former Montreal Canadiens' captain and three-time Frank J. Selke Trophy winner Guy Carbonneau, who was then with the St. Louis Blues. With the Stars struggling to begin the season, general manager and head coach Bob Gainey traded for center Joe Nieuwendyk from the Calgary Flames in exchange for Corey Millen and Jarome Iginla, then a Stars prospect. The Stars recorded only 11 wins in the first half of the season, and Bob Gainey relinquished his coaching duties in January to be the full-time general manager of the team. The Stars soon hired Michigan K-Wings head coach Ken Hitchcock to replace him; it would be his first NHL head coaching position. The Stars then traded for Benoit Hogue from the Toronto Maple Leafs late in the season, but ultimately finished in sixth place in the Central Division, missing the playoffs for the first time since moving to Texas.

In the 1996 off-season, the Stars continued to revamp their roster, adding defensemen Darryl Sydor from the Los Angeles Kings followed by Sergei Zubov from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Kevin Hatcher. Zubov would serve as the Stars' top defenseman and powerplay quarterback until leaving the league in 2009. On the ice, Ken Hitchcock's first season proved to be a good one. The Stars bested their 1994 totals, posting 48 wins and reaching the 100-point mark for the first time in franchise history. The Stars won the Central Division, their first division title since 1983–84 (when they were still the Minnesota North Stars) and were seeded second in the playoffs. Despite the regular season success, the youthful Stars were upset in the first round by the Edmonton Oilers in seven games. Defenseman Grant Ledyard tripped in overtime of game 7, allowing Todd Marchant to score the game- and series-winning goal on a breakaway against goaltender Andy Moog.

During the 1997 off-season, the Stars signed star goaltender Ed Belfour as a free agent after a well-publicized falling-out with the San Jose Sharks, which had traded a number of players to the Chicago Blackhawks to obtain him in January in the previous season. Andy Moog was allowed to leave via free agency, but later returned to the Stars as an assistant coach. The 1997–98 season was another banner year for the Stars. The Stars again set franchise records in wins (49) and points (109). Dallas acquired Mike Keane at the deadline from the New York Rangers. The Stars won the franchise's first Presidents' Trophy as the league's best regular season team, as well as the Central Division title for the second season in a row. Belfour set franchise season records for goals against average (1.88), wins (37) and just missed out on the Jennings Trophy by one goal to Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils. The Stars were the first overall seed for the 1998 Stanley Cup playoffs and defeated the eighth-seeded San Jose Sharks in six games in the first round. Notorious enforcer Bryan Marchment injured Joe Nieuwendyk's right knee, forcing him to miss the rest of the playoffs with torn ligaments. In the second round, they again met the Edmonton Oilers, this time defeating them in five games. However, without Nieuwendyk, the Stars lacked the firepower to overcome the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings in the conference finals and lost in six games. The Red Wings went on to win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.

In the 1998 off-season, after falling just short in the conference finals, the Stars added what they believed was the final piece toward winning a championship: star goalscoring winger Brett Hull. Hull had already had a successful career with the St. Louis Blues, with three consecutive 70-goal seasons and a Hart Memorial Trophy, but a fallout with Blues management led Hull to leave St. Louis via free agency. Additionally, this was the first season for the Stars in the Pacific Division after the 1998 NHL division re-alignment.

In the 1998–99 season, the Stars won 51 games, surpassing the 50-win mark for the first time in franchise history. They also recorded 114 points, which still stands today as a franchise record. They won their first Pacific Division by 24 points (their third consecutive division title), a second consecutive Presidents' Trophy, the Jennings Trophy as the league's top defensive team, and were awarded home-ice advantage throughout the 1999 playoffs. Winger Jere Lehtinen was also awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy.

In the first round of the playoffs, Dallas faced the Edmonton Oilers. The Stars swept the Oilers in four close games, winning game 4 in the third overtime on a goal by Joe Nieuwendyk. They then faced the St. Louis Blues in the second round. After taking a 2–0 series lead, the Blues came back to tie the series. The Stars then won the next two games to beat the Blues in six games. The series again ended on an overtime goal, this time in game 6 from Mike Modano. In the conference finals, they faced the Colorado Avalanche for the first time in Stars playoff history. This would be the first of four playoff meetings between the Stars and Avalanche in the next seven years. After both the Stars and the Avalanche split the first four games at a 2–2 series tie, the Avalanche won game 5 by a score of 7–5, taking a 3–2 series lead, The Stars rallied winning game six on the road, and game 7 at home, both by 4–1 scorelines.

This was the Stars' first Stanley Cup Finals appearance as the Dallas Stars, although they made the finals twice as the Minnesota North Stars. They faced the Eastern Conference champion Buffalo Sabres, who had defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–1 in the conference finals. After splitting the first four games, the Stars vaunted defense would hold the Sabres to only one goal in the next two, winning game 5 2–0 and game 6 2–1 on a triple-overtime goal by Brett Hull. Hull's goal at 14:51 of the third overtime was allowed to stand only after a lengthy official review. That season, the league still had the "crease rule" in effect, which provided that if any player of the attacking team who did not have possession of the puck entered the crease before the puck, then any resulting goal was disallowed. Hull had initially gained possession of the puck outside the crease and had made a shot that was blocked by Buffalo goaltender Dominik Hasek. One of Hull's skates entered the crease as he corralled the rebound, and Hull's second shot scored the Cup-winning goal. The goal was eventually allowed, as having simply blocked Hull's shot rather than catching it, Hasek never took possession of the puck away from Hull. Officials therefore determined that rather than calling it a loose puck, Hull would be considered to have had continuous possession of the puck from before his first shot outside the crease. The complexity of the crease rule, and the attendant difficulties in understanding its application by fans and players alike, combined with the controversy arising out of the disputed Stanley Cup-winning goal, resulted in the crease rule being repealed the following season. Hull's goal marked the 13th time a Stanley Cup-winning goal was scored in overtime, and only the fourth to be scored in multiple overtimes. This was the only time between 1995 and 2003 that a team other than the New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche or Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup.

The team added veterans Kirk Muller, Dave Manson and Sylvain Cote in an effort to defend their Stanley Cup championship in 1999–2000. On December 31, 1999, Brett Hull scored his 600 and 601st career goals in a 5–4 win over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The Stars ultimately won the Pacific Division for the second year in a row, and were seeded second in the Western Conference. Dallas then defeated the Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks in the first and second rounds, both 4–1 series victories. The Stars, for the second season in a row, defeated the Colorado Avalanche in the conference finals in seven games to reach their second consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, where they met the New Jersey Devils. Because the Devils finished the regular season with one more point than Dallas, the Stars had to play their first playoff series without home-ice advantage since 1995. The Stars lost all three games at the Reunion Arena in the Finals, and lost the series in game 6 on a double-overtime goal by New Jersey forward Jason Arnott.

Hoping to win back the Stanley Cup, the Stars again captured the Pacific Division, posting a solid 48–24–8–2 record in the 2000–01 season. In the playoffs, the Stars and the Edmonton Oilers met in the first round, battling back-and-forth through the first four games, with each game decided by one goal, including three going into overtime. Game 5 would also go to overtime, as the Stars took a 3–2 series lead on a goal by Kirk Muller. However, in game 6 in Edmonton, the Stars did not need overtime, advancing to the second round with a 3–1 win. Facing the St. Louis Blues, the Stars would run out of gas, being swept in four straight games. The game 2 loss would be the last NHL game played in Reunion Arena.

Moving into the brand new American Airlines Center for the 2001–02 season, the Stars had a slow start to the season, as goaltender Ed Belfour struggled through one of his worst seasons. Head coach Ken Hitchcock was eventually fired, being replaced by Rick Wilson. Despite the coaching change, the Stars continued to play poor hockey. With the prospect of missing the playoffs, the Stars traded 1999 Conn Smythe winner Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Randy McKay and Jason Arnott, who scored the game-winning goal in the 2000 Finals against Dallas. The Stars would eventually go on to post a respectable record of 35–28–13–5. However, it would not be enough for the playoffs, as they fell four points short of the final eighth spot in the Western Conference. Following the season, coach Rick Wilson would return to assistant coaching duties, as the Stars brought in Dave Tippett as his replacement.

As in the 2002 off-season, Ed Belfour left via free agency to the Toronto Maple Leafs. To begin the 2002–03 season, the Stars awarded the starting goaltending position to Marty Turco, who went on to have one of the best seasons in NHL history, posting the lowest goals-against average (GAA) since 1940, at 1.76. However, missing 18 games late in the season likely cost him a shot at the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league's top regular season goaltender. Regardless, the Stars posted the best record in the Western Conference at 46–17–15–4, and along the way, two-way star Jere Lehtinen won his third Frank J. Selke Trophy. In the playoffs, the Stars once again met the Edmonton Oilers, and once again the Oilers would prove a contentious opponent, winning two of the first three games. However, the Stars would prove the better team again by winning the next three games to take the series in six games. The Stars' second-round series against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim got off to an unbelievable start, as the game went deep into overtime tied 3–3. However, Mighty Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 60 shots as the Ducks scored early in the fifth overtime. Game 2 would be more of the same, as the Ducks stunned the Stars in overtime. Desperately needing a win, the Stars bounced back to take game 3 in Anaheim. However, the Ducks would take a 3–1 series lead by breaking a scoreless tie late in the third period of game 4. In game 5, the Stars finally solved Giguere by scoring four goals to keep their playoff hopes alive. However, the Stars' dreams of a return trip to the Stanley Cup Finals would end in heartbreaking fashion as the Ducks broke a 3–3 tie with 1:06 left in game 6 on a goal by defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh.

Coming off their disappointing playoff loss, the Stars would get off to a shaky start to the 2003–04 season, as they played mediocre hockey through the first three months of the season, posting a sub-.500 record. However, as the calendar turned to 2004, the Stars began to find their game, as they posted a 9–4–3 record in January. As the season wore on, the Stars would get stronger, climbing up the playoff ladder and eventually reaching second place in the Pacific Division, where they finished with a solid 41–26–13–2 record; Marty Turco had another outstanding season, recording a 1.98 GAA. However, the Stars could not carry their momentum into the playoffs, as they were beaten by the Colorado Avalanche in five games in the first round.

Coming out of the owners' lockout that cancelled the entire 2004–05 season, the Stars remained one of the strongest teams in the Western Conference for the start of 2005–06, as they won four of their first five games on the way to a solid October. November would be even better for Dallas, as they won 10 of 13 games and took over first place in the Pacific Division, a position they would hold most of the season, as they went on to finish with a terrific record of 53–23–6. One reason for the Stars' success was their strong play in shootouts, as forward Jussi Jokinen was nearly automatic, making 10-of-13 shot attempts. Also performing strongly in shootouts was Sergei Zubov, who used a slow-but-steady backhand to go 7-for-12, as the Stars ultimately won 12 of 13 games that were settled by a shootout. As the number two seed in the Western Conference, the Stars faced the seventh-seeded Colorado Avalanche. The Stars were favorited to win the Western Conference, and some even predicted them to win the Stanley Cup. However, the Stars would stumble right from the start, losing game 1 by a score of 5–2 as the Avalanche scored five unanswered goals after the Stars jumped out to a promising 2–0 lead. Game 2 would see the Stars suffer another setback at home, as the Stars lost in overtime 5–4 on a goal by Joe Sakic. On the road in game 3, the Stars led 3–2 in the final minute before the Avalanche forced overtime on a goal by Andrew Brunette, while Alex Tanguay won the game just 69 seconds into overtime to put the Stars in a 3–0 hole. The Stars would avoid the sweep with a 4–1 win in game 4, but overtime would doom them again in game 5, as Andrew Brunette scored the series winner at 6:05, ending the Stars' playoffs hopes after just five games.

Following the previous season's disappointing first-round playoff loss at the hands of the seventh-seeded Avalanche, the Stars made a number of changes during the 2006 off-season. Former Stars goalkeeper Andy Moog was promoted to assistant general manager for player development (he kept his job as goaltending coach) and former player Ulf Dahlen was hired as an assistant coach. The Stars allowed center Jason Arnott, defenseman Willie Mitchell and goaltender Johan Hedberg to leave as free agents. Forward Niko Kapanen was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers and the remaining two years on fan-favorite right winger Bill Guerin's contract were bought out. The Stars also received Patrik Stefan and Jaroslav Modry in the Atlanta trade, and signed Eric Lindros, Jeff Halpern, Matthew Barnaby and Darryl Sydor as free agents. Young goaltender Mike Smith was promoted to the NHL to serve as Marty Turco's backup. During the season, key future pieces – center Mike Ribeiro and defenseman Mattias Norstrom – were added through separate trades. Young players Joel Lundqvist, Krys Barch, Nicklas Grossmann and Chris Conner all saw significant ice time while other players were out of the lineup with injuries.

On September 29, 2006, Brenden Morrow was announced as new team captain, taking the role over from Mike Modano, who had served as the incumbent since 2003. On March 13, 2007, Modano scored his 500th career NHL goal, making him only the 39th player and second American to ever reach the milestone. On March 17, Modano scored his 502nd and 503rd NHL goals, breaking the record for an American-born player, previously held by Joe Mullen.

On January 24, 2007, the NHL All-Star Game was held at the American Airlines Center. Defenseman Philippe Boucher and goaltender Marty Turco would represent the Stars as part of the Western Conference All-Star roster. The Stars qualified for the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Western Conference and squared off against the Vancouver Canucks in the first round. Marty Turco delivered three shutout wins in games 2, 5 and 6, but the Stars' offense failed to capitalize and they lost the series in seven games, the third season in a row that they lost in the first round.

In the 2007 NHL entry draft, the Stars drafted the relatively unknown Jamie Benn 129th overall. After starting a lackluster 7–7–3 in the 2007–08 season, general manager Doug Armstrong was fired by the team. He was replaced by an unusual "co-general manager" arrangement of former assistant GM Les Jackson and former Stars player Brett Hull. On November 8, 2007, Mike Modano became the top American born point scorer of all time, finishing off a shorthanded breakaway opportunity on San Jose Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov.

On February 26, 2008, just hours before the trade deadline, the Stars traded for All-Star center Brad Richards from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for backup goaltender Mike Smith and forwards Jussi Jokinen and Jeff Halpern. The Stars rallied to a final record of 45–30–7 and qualified for the playoffs as the fifth seed, matching up with the defending Stanley Cup champion, the Anaheim Ducks, in the first round. After a rough end to the season, only winning two games in March of that year, the Stars shocked everyone by winning the first two games of the series in Anaheim, and then would go on to finish off the Ducks in six games, their first playoff series win since 2003. In the second round, the Stars matched up with the Pacific Division champion San Jose Sharks. Once again, the Stars surprised everyone by winning the first two games of the series on the road. In game 2, Brad Richards tied an NHL record by recording four points in the third period. The Stars would then take a 3–0 series lead after a Mattias Norstrom overtime goal in game 3. After the Sharks staved off elimination with back to back wins in games 4 and 5, captain Brenden Morrow finished the Sharks off in game 6 with a powerplay goal nearly halfway into the fourth overtime, a moment nicknamed "Cinco De Morrow" by Stars fans as game 6 ended in the early morning hours of the Cinco De Mayo holiday on May 5. The win sent the Stars to their first conference finals since 2000, where they met the powerhouse Detroit Red Wings. After falling behind in the series 3–0, the Stars made a series of it winning games 4 and 5 before ultimately being ousted by the Red Wings in six games.

The 2008–09 season saw the early loss for the season of captain Brenden Morrow to an ACL tear. Off-season free agent acquisition Sean Avery caused a media uproar over comments he made to a Canadian reporter about ex-girlfriend Elisha Cuthbert and her relationship with Calgary Flames' defenseman Dion Phaneuf before a game in Calgary. The incident forced the team to suspend Avery for the season; he was later waived by the Stars. That incident, plus injuries to key players Brad Richards and Sergei Zubov, caused the Stars to tailspin to a 12th-place finish and the first missed playoffs for Dallas since 2002.

In the wake of the season, the Stars hired a new general manager, former player and alternate captain Joe Nieuwendyk. Hull and Jackson remained with the Stars, but were reassigned to new roles within the organization. Less than a week after he was hired, Nieuwendyk fired six-season head coach Dave Tippett on June 10, 2009, and hired Marc Crawford the next day as his replacement. Other off-season moves included the addition of Charlie Huddy as assistant coach in charge of defense and the promotions of Stu Barnes and Andy Moog to assistant coaches. The Stars' 2009–10 season was similar to the previous one. Inconsistent play and defensive struggles plagued the team throughout the season, as they failed to adjust to Marc Crawford's new offensively-minded system, and owner Tom Hicks' financial troubles prevented the team from spending more than $45 million on payroll, over $11 million beneath the league salary cap. The Stars failed to win more than three games in a row all season, finished in last in the Pacific Division and repeated their 12th place conference finish from the year before with a record of 37–31–14 for 88 points, seven points back from the last playoff spot. This was the first time that they would miss the playoffs two seasons in a row since the Stars moved to Texas.

In the 2010 off-season, long-time goaltender Marty Turco was let go in favor of Kari Lehtonen to become the team's number one goaltender for the future. In the Star's last game of the season, away against the Minnesota Wild, Mike Modano was named the game's first star and skated around the rink after the game wearing his North Stars uniform, receiving a rousing ovation. The Stars also let Mike Modano walk in free agency, the face of the franchise for the past two decades. Modano subsequently signed with his hometown team, the Detroit Red Wings while Turco joined the newly defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. Winger Jere Lehtinen, who played his entire career with the Stars, announced his retirement. The team also made key acquisitions both in trades or in free agency, such as winger Adam Burish (who was on the 2010 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks) and goaltender Andrew Raycroft. They also gave Jonathan Cheechoo a try-out, but he was cut and later signed with division rivals San Jose Sharks. To begin the 2010–11 season, the Stars won their first three games in a row, going on a three-game win streak for the first time since the 2008–09 season by beating the New Jersey Devils 4–3 in overtime in the season opener on October 8, 2010, New York Islanders 5–4 in a shootout on October 9, and against the Red Wings in the Stars' home opener on October 14, respectively. The home opener against the Red Wings featured an emotional return for Mike Modano, as the Stars crowd gave Modano a standing ovation as he was shown on the American Airlines Center jumbotron during a timeout in the game. After a hot start to the season, the Stars would continue to dominate within the first 50 games of the season, staying in both the Pacific Division lead and within the top three spots of the Western Conference. Through the first 50 games of the season up until the All-Star Break, they compiled a 30–15–5 record. However, after the All-Star Break the Stars went into a slump, going on numerous losing streaks which included one-goal losses and blowing late leads in numerous games. Through this though, the Stars still remained in the playoff picture. On the day of the trade deadline (February 28, 2011), the Stars traded up and comer James Neal and Matt Niskanen to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenseman Alex Goligoski. Despite these late-season struggles, the Stars still had a chance to make the playoffs by winning their season finale on April 10, as they lost on the road at the Minnesota Wild 5–3 and a 42–29–11 record, costing them the last playoff spot despite the winning record and a vastly improved season overall compared to the previous two seasons, finishing 9th in the Western Conference only two points behind the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks for the eighth and final playoff spot. After missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season, Dallas fired coach Marc Crawford after just one season with the club on April 12.

To start the 2011 off-season, according to Darren Dreger of TSN, the team had been "financially managed" by the league for over a year. On June 16, 2011, Dallas hired Glen Gulutzan to be head coach, making him the sixth coach since the franchise's move from Minnesota. On September 13, 2011, lenders voted to agree to have the Stars file for bankruptcy and sold at auction. On September 21, 2011, Mike Modano announced his retirement from the league. By October 22, 2011, competing bids to buy the club were due. Vancouver businessman and Kamloops Blazers owner Tom Gaglardi's bid was the only one submitted, clearing the way for him to enter the final stages of taking over ownership of the team. Gaglardi's purchase was approved by the NHL Board of Governors on November 18, 2011. A bankruptcy court judge approved the bid for an enterprise value of $240 million. First lien creditors got about 75 cents on the dollar. The Stars lost $38 million during their last fiscal year and $92 million over the last three seasons.

As the new owner, Gaglardi's first move was bringing back former Stars President Jim Lites to once again take the reins as team president and CEO. To begin the 2011–12 season, the Stars once again jumped out to a fast start, going 23-17-1 through the first 41 games of the season. However, when the second half of the season began, the Stars slumped through the months of January and February, before getting hot again in late February. Throughout March, the Stars regained the lead of the Pacific Division. Beginning on March 26, 2012, the Stars embarked on a western road trip that saw them visit the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks. Going into the road trip, the Stars were in control of their own destiny, having to gain four points on the road trip to win their first Pacific Division title since the 2005–06 season. After the Stars lost 5–4 in Calgary to the Flames on March 26, the Stars beat the Oilers two nights later, 3–1. This would be their last win of the season, as the Stars were rolled over by the Canucks and Sharks the next two games. The Stars were eliminated from playoff contention on April 5 in a 2–0 loss to the playoff-bound Nashville Predators. Despite a winning record once again of 42–35–5 record, the team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year missing the 2012 playoffs by six points, setting a franchise record for consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance.

On July 1, 2012, the team signed free agent veterans Jaromir Jagr, Ray Whitney, and Aaron Rome. The next day, the Stars traded fan-favorite Steve Ott and Adam Pardy to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for center Derek Roy. When the 2012–13 NHL lockout ended in January 2013 and a 48-game season began the Stars embarked on an up-and-down season, though staying in the race for one of the eight Western Conference playoff spots most of the shortened season. In mid-season, forward Michael Ryder was traded to his former team, the Montreal Canadiens, for Erik Cole. This shocked many as Ryder has become an almost overnight fan-favorite to Stars fans in his time with Dallas thanks to his stellar 35-goal campaign the previous season in 2011–12. Before the trade deadline in early April, the Stars began to falter and team captain Brenden Morrow was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins; Roy was traded to the Vancouver Canucks; Jagr to the Boston Bruins; and Tomas Vincour to the Colorado Avalanche to close out the NHL trade deadline, all in exchange for draft picks and prospects. After all of the trades at the trade deadline, the Stars' remaining young players pulled together to win six of their next eight games, thus propelling the Stars back into the 2013 playoff race. However, the Stars would drop their final five games, losing all of them while gaining only one point, eliminating them from playoff contention. The Stars had now missed the playoffs for the five straight seasons, continuing to set the all-time record for the franchise (dating back to the franchise's history in Minnesota) for most consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance.

The day after their final regular season game of the 2012–13 season (a 3–0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings), the Stars fired general manager Joe Nieuwendyk. The next day, the Stars introduced their 11th all-time general manager, Jim Nill, the former assistant general manager of the Red Wings. On May 14, 2013, the coaching staff was also fired, and on May 31, 2013, Scott White was re-introduced as the director of hockey operations. The Stars hired Lindy Ruff as their new head coach on June 21, 2013. Nill made his first big trade as general manager when he acquired the former second overall draft pick from the 2010 NHL entry draft in Tyler Seguin, as well as Rich Peverley and Ryan Button from the Boston Bruins in exchange for Loui Eriksson, Reilly Smith, Matt Fraser and Joe Morrow. During the 2013 off-season, the league underwent a major realignment. Dallas' returned to a revamped Central Division, bringing them a much more broadcast-friendly schedule for divisional away games. The Stars had long lobbied for this, as they were unhappy with the large number of games they had to play on the road in the Pacific Time Zone as a member of the Pacific Division since the 1998–99 season. Under new head coach Lindy Ruff and led by 84-point and 79-point campaigns from Seguin and newly minted captain Jamie Benn respectively, the Stars narrowly made it to the 2014 playoffs, returning to the Playoffs for the first time since 2008 with a successful 40–31–11 record, finishing with 91 points, fifth in the Central Division and eighth in the Western Conference during the 2013–14 season. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the top-seeded Anaheim Ducks in six games with a 5–4 overtime loss in game 6.

Nill made another big trade as general manager when he acquired Jason Spezza and Ludwig Karlsson from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Alex Chiasson, Nick Paul, Alex Guptill and a second-round pick in the 2015 NHL entry draft. He also signed Senators player Ales Hemsky as a free agent on a three-year, $12 million contract on July 1, 2014. Despite these moves and a 92-point 41–31–10 campaign, the Stars finished with the second-lowest goaltender save percentage in the league during the 2014–15 season, which resulted in them failing to qualify for the 2015 playoffs due to their sixth-place finish in the Central Division and being seven points behind of the last playoff spot. The lone bright spot of the 2014–15 season was captain Jamie Benn winning the Art Ross Trophy. On April 11, 2015, Benn scored four points in the Stars' last regular season game to finish with 87 points on the season and win the Art Ross Trophy. His final point, a secondary assist with 8.5 seconds left in regulation in the game, allowed him to overtake New York Islanders centre and captain John Tavares for the award by one point.

In the 2015 off-season the Stars made a couple additions to the team, first trading with the Chicago Blackhawks for three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Sharp as well as defenseman Stephen Johns in exchange for Trevor Daley and Ryan Garbutt. The Stars also signed via free agency Sharp's teammate from the Blackhawks Johnny Oduya to a two-year contract. In the 2015–16 season, the Stars won their first Central Division title since 1998 and posted the best regular season record in the Western Conference with a 50–23–9 record good enough for 109 points and the runner up to the Presidents' Trophy as the regular season champions, only behind the Washington Capitals. In the first round of the 2016 playoffs, they defeated the Minnesota Wild in six games. In the second round, they faced the St. Louis Blues in the playoffs for the first time since 2001, but lost the series in seven games.

The Stars finished with a 34–37–11 record in an injury-plagued 2016–17 season, missing the playoffs for the seventh time in the past nine seasons, missing the 2017 playoffs by 15 points. As a result, the team announced that head coach Lindy Ruff's contract would not be renewed.

In the 2017 off-season the Stars lost goaltender Antti Niemi and forward Patrick Sharp in free agency.

Ken Hitchcock returned as head coach for the 2017–18 season, however once again the Stars missed the playoffs, this time narrowly missing having only missed by just three points in the standings after posting a winning record of 42–32–8 in the season.

Hitchcock retired after the season and was succeeded at the head coaching spot by Jim Montgomery. Montgomery's first season as the Stars coach saw the team finish with a 43–32–7 record, good enough to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 as the first wild card team and seventh seed in the Western Conference. The Stars defeated the Central Division-champion and second-seeded Nashville Predators in a six-game series the first round, but fell to the sixth-seeded and eventual Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues in seven games, losing game 7 on the road in double-overtime by a score of 2–1 despite a 52-save performance by starting goaltender Ben Bishop.

Going into the 2019–20 season, the Stars added veteran forwards Joe Pavelski from the San Jose Sharks and Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks in free agency on July 1, 2019. To start the 2019–20 season, the Stars sputtered to a 1–7–1 start through their first nine games. However the Stars soon rallied and rattled off a 14–1–1 record between October 19 and November 25, which catapulted the Stars to an eventual season record of 37–24–8 through 69 games, as the regular season was suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Barely two full months into his second season as Stars head coach, on December 10, the Stars fired head coach Jim Montgomery for "unprofessional conduct inconsistent with the core values and beliefs of the Dallas Stars and the National Hockey League." General manager Jim Nill said the situation had come to light the previous weekend, and involved "a material act of unprofessionalism" egregious enough to demand Montgomery's immediate firing. He did not offer specifics "out of respect for everyone involved," only saying that it did not involve abuse of players or criminal conduct. Rick Bowness, who joined the team as an assistant coach a month after Montgomery's hiring in May 2018, was named interim coach, while Derek Laxdal (who was the head coach of the Stars' AHL affiliate Texas Stars at the time) would be promoted to the assistant coaching position that was vacated by Bowness. On January 1, 2020, the Stars hosted the Nashville Predators in the 2020 Winter Classic at the Cotton Bowl in a rematch of the previous seasons' first-round playoff series, where the Stars prevailed with a 4–2 victory. This was the first NHL outdoor game for both teams and with a sold-out crowd of 85,630 at the Cotton Bowl, it was the second-most attended game in NHL history. The NHL returned from the March 2020 abrupt regular season stoppage three weeks before completion due to the COVID-19 pandemic a little under five months later in August 2020, where the Stars advanced to the playoffs. By virtue of having one of the top four highest point percentages in the Western Conference at the time the season was suspended, the Stars played in a round-robin tournament against three of the other top four teams in the Western Conference (Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, and St. Louis Blues) in order to determine the team's seed for the playoffs; Dallas was ultimately seeded as the no. 3 seed in the Western Conference, entering them into a first-round series against the Calgary Flames. The Stars defeated the Flames in six games in the first round, and then defeated the Colorado Avalanche in a seven-game series that ended with a Joel Kiviranta hat-trick performance in game 7, which included his series-winning overtime goal. The Stars would defeat the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in the conference finals to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2000, as the Stars would end a second consecutive series of the playoffs with a series-winning overtime goal when Denis Gurianov scored 3:36 into the first overtime period of game 5, winning the game 3–2 for the Stars. The Stars would go on to face the Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Stars won game 1 of the series by a 4–1 score, but would eventually fall to the Lightning in six games.

A month after the Stars' run to the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals, interim head coach Rick Bowness was named full-time head coach on October 29, 2020. In the following season, an injury-plagued campaign for the team (most notably with veteran forwards Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov along with veteran goaltender Ben Bishop) caused the Stars to finish the COVID-shortened 56-game schedule with a 23–19–14 record, finishing fifth in the Central Division with 60 points and missing the playoffs by four points marking the first time since 2018 where the team failed to qualify for a playoff spot.

The Stars would rebound in the 2021–22 season with a 98-point 46–30–6 record, good enough for the first wild-card spot and seventh seed in the Western Conference playoffs where they played the Pacific Division-champion and second-seeded Calgary Flames in the first round. They were defeated by the Flames in seven games, losing 3–2 in overtime of game 7 in Calgary. In game 7 the Stars took the game to overtime despite the Flames making twice as many shots and attempts as the Stars, with the Stars' young starting netminder Jake Oettinger recording 64 saves, the second-highest in playoff history behind only Kelly Hrudey's 73 during the 1987 Easter Epic. The Stars were eliminated when Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau finally scored 15:09 into the first overtime period to end the game 3–2. After the team's playoff elimination, head coach Rick Bowness announced that he would be resigning from his coaching duties with the team.

On June 21, 2022, the Stars hired Peter DeBoer to replace Bowness as their head coach, the 10th in franchise history since the team moved to Dallas in 1993. In the 2022 off-season the Stars added in free agency both forward Mason Marchment, and defenseman Colin Miller, however lost veteran defenseman John Klingberg to the Anaheim Ducks via free agency after eight seasons with the Stars. Led by their trio of veteran forwards Tyler Seguin, Joe Pavelski, and captain Jamie Benn, as well as the emergence of a young core of players including netminder Jake Oettinger, forwards Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, and Wyatt Johnston, and defenseman Miro Heiskanen, the Stars completed their first season under Peter DeBoer with a 108-point 47–21–14 regular season record, just barely being beat out by the Colorado Avalanche by one point for the 2022–23 Central Division title. In only his third full season with the Stars and fourth season altogether, Jason Robertson set a new Dallas Stars record for total points in a season with 109 points, surpassing the previous record of 93 points set by Mike Modano in the Stars' first season in Dallas back in 1993–94. Robertson accomplished this feat in a game against the Arizona Coyotes on March 31, 2023, when he scored a goal as part of a Stars 5–2 win over the Coyotes, his goal was his record-breaking 94th point of the season and 100th goal of his career. Captain Jamie Benn also had a resurgent season, finishing with a 78-point season that included 33 goals and 45 assists recorded in all 82 contests played for a season nicknamed by both Stars fans and pundits alike as the "Bennaissance" for his first 75-plus point season since 2017–18. Along with trade deadline acquisitions Max Domi, and Evgenii Dadonov, the Stars entered the 2023 playoffs as the number two seed in the Central Division, matching them up in a first round series against the Minnesota Wild for their first playoff series versus one another since 2016. The Stars opened the playoffs at home with an double-overtime loss in game 1, as nearly midway through regulation of game 1 Joe Pavelski was knocked out with a concussion for the remainder of the first round series on a hit by Wild defenseman Matt Dumba. The Stars responded with a win in game 2 fueled by a Roope Hintz hat-trick performance, winning four of the next five games in the series after game 1 to eliminate the Wild in six games. The Stars then faced the Seattle Kraken in the second round of the playoffs. The Kraken, in only their second season of existence, had upset the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in the first round in seven games. Pavelski returned to the Stars for game 1 of the series, scoring all four of the Stars' goals in the game, however the Stars lost by a score of 5–4 in overtime. The Stars would go on to win the series, winning game 7 at home by a score of 2–1, sending the Stars to the conference finals and setting up a rematch of the 2020 conference finals versus the Vegas Golden Knights. The Stars would immediately go down 3–0 in the series versus Vegas after dropping the first two games in overtime on the road and a 4–0 loss at home in game 3. In game 3 captain Jamie Benn was suspended for two games for an illegal cross-check on Vegas captain Mark Stone. Though the Stars would win games 4 and 5 without Benn and extend the series, the eventual Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights would ultimately defeat the Stars in six games with a 6–0 win in game 6.

The next season saw the Stars clinch their fourth Central Division title and finished as the top seed in the Western Conference and placed second in the League overall as the runner up for the Presidents' Trophy, only behind the New York Rangers. They defeated the defending Stanley Cup champion and eighth-seeded Vegas Golden Knights in seven games in the first round of the 2024 playoffs, then defeated the Colorado Avalanche in six games in the second round, and then lost to the Edmonton Oilers in six games in the conference finals.