When the NHL went through its first expansion in 1967 it was almost impossible to leave out Minnesota. No other region in the US produces as many quality players as does Minnesota. Maybe that is due in part to its 15,000 lakes.

All new entries into the NHL had to be able to produce a suitable arena in order to acquire a franchise. Just prior to the start of the 1967-68 season the Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington was completed and Wren Blair was named as coach and general manager. Blair was no stranger to hockey, with one of his claims to fame being the discovery of Bobby Orr. The team was backed by Gordon Ritz, Walter Bush, W. John Driscoll, Robert McNulty, Robert Ridder and Harry McNeely Jr.

The North Stars opened their inaugural season on October 21, 1967 against the California Seals, defeating them 3-1. Disaster struck early in the North Stars, but the loss was not in the score, it was a team mate. Bill Masterton died on January 15, 1968 of brain damage, just 2 days after he was injured in a game against Oakland. Because of Bill's contribution to the club and his dedication to hockey, the NHL donated the Bill Masterton Trophy at the end of the year. The trophy goes to the player who best suits the title, "unsung hero". Montreal's Claude Provost was the first recipient.

In their first year the North Stars finished 4th in the West Division. In the playoffs they faced the Los Angeles Kings, defeating them 4-3. They then faced the St Louis Blues, but were defeated 4 games to 3 in double overtime.

In their second year the North Stars finished out of the playoffs, and subsequently did a little house cleaning and finished their third season in 3rd place, back in the playoff hunt once again. In that same year Blair hired Jack Gordon to help him behind the bench and added a few significant players like Doug Mohns, Gump Worsley and Jude Druin. Despite this talent infusion, the North Stars were only able to get to the second round where they were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens. The North Stars were successful both on and off the ice. While they were improving their standings, they were also improving their attendance. In the first year they were selling just over 11,000 tickets per game, and by the end of the third year their sales averaged over 14,000 seats, in a 15,000 seat arena.

The early North Stars had several "colourful" characters that seemed to stand out from the crowd. To start with, their two goalies, Gump Worsley and Ceasar Maniago were a contradiction of each other. Worsley was small and round, Maniago, tall and lean; Worsley wore no mask, Maniago wore a white facemask. Bill Goldsworthy led the team in scoring in 1971-72 with 31 goals and 62 points, and his post goal jig endeared himself to the fans.

The next 5 years were hard on the North Stars. Despite Goldwworthy's talented goal scoring, gutsy performances by Dennis Hextall in 1973-74, and stellar seasons by Bill Hogaboam and Tim Young in 1975-76, and the NHL's realignment, the Stars could not manage better than 4th place. The 1976-77 had a few bright spots with Tim Young leading the team in scoring with 95 points helping them reach second place in the Smythe Divison and once again put them on the playoff trail against the Buffalo Sabres, however, the Sabres defeated the Stars by sweeping the best of 3 first round.

The 1977-78 saw a unique merger occur. The North Stars were not doing well financially and the owners led by Gordon Ritz were looking for possible new investors. Luckily for Ritz the group of investors he found, Gordon and George Gund already owned another NHL team that was not doing well, the Cleveland Barons, who were moved from the Oakland area in 1976. The Cleveland franchise was folded and any players who were under contract to the Barons now had a contract with the North Stars. This enabled the North Stars to pick from two teams.

One of the players who was on the new team of 1978-79 was rookie scoring sensation Bobby Smith who had 30 goals and 44 assists to lead the North Stars in scoring in just his first season, and his performance earned him the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year. The North Stars steadily improved and by 1981 they were in the Stanley Cup finals against the New York Islanders. But the Stars were no match for the Islanders and avoided a sweep by winning game 4.

The following year the North Stars led the Norris Division with 94 points and were feeling confident about their chances to bring home the cup. Smith kept up his performance and the Stars added Neal Brotten and Dino Cicerelli into the equation. The Stars drew the Black Hawks in the first round and were promptly eliminated in game 4. The following year saw the Stars finish second in the Norris Division and again they faced the Chicago Black Hawks and in what seemed to be Déjà vu, the Hawks eliminated the Stars again

. In 1983-84 the Stars once again finished first in the Norris Division but did so without the services of Bobby Smith, as he was traded to Montreal early in the season. Brian Bellows and Brad Maxwell helped to fill the void created by Smith. The Stars once again faced the Black Hawks in the first round, but this time the outcome was different, and the Stars eliminated the Hawks in 5 games. Following that they eliminated the St Louis Blues in 7 games, but were finally ousted from the playoffs by Edmonton in 4 games straight.

Despite finishing below .500 the following year, they made the playoffs and faced the powerful St Louis Blues in the first round. Everyone figured it would be an easy victory for the Blues, but someone forgot to tell the Stars and they eliminated the Blues in a 3 game sweep. Once again though, the Black Hawks were victorious in the second round.

In 1985-86 the Stars were eliminated by the St Louis Blues despite Broten's 100 points, Ciccarelli's 44 goals and Bellows' 31 goals. That would be the last time the Stars would make the playoffs until the 1988-89 season. That same year they made some shrewd acquisitions in Mike Gartner and Dave Gagner. Gagner led the Stars in scoring with 78 points and Gartner used his experience for 69 points. But despite finishing third in the Norris Division the Blues once again eliminated the Stars from their quest for the Cup. Gartner had come up dry for the series and he was traded to the New York Rangers the following year.

Future star Mike Modano joined the club in 1990 debuting with 29 goals and 46 assists and earned rookie of the year by the Hockey News. Even with Modano, Broten and Bellows the Stars once again fell to the Chicago Black Hawks in 7 games during the first round. That same year, owners George and Gordon Gund talked about moving the team if they couldn't get a buyer who was willing to pay $50 million. Norm Green and Howard Baldwin purchased the team and the Gunds were granted a franchise in San Jose.

Perhaps the 1990-91 season was the Stars finest hour. Although they finished 4th in the regular season they made it to the Stanley Cup finals. Bolstered by Brian Propp, Broten, Modano, Bellows and Gagner and supported by Jon Casey in net, the Stars eliminated Chicago, St Louis and the Edmonton Oilers to make it to the finals. The finals saw the Stars and the Pittsburgh Penguins led by Mario Lemieux won the Cup in 6.

From one of their best performances to despair is the only way to sum up the next couple of years for the Stars. Financial and legal problems were plaguing the club and players seemed to be losing their edge. The Met Center had become a second rate arena in the shadow of the new Target Center in Minneapolis, and attempts to move the club to downtown from the suburbs was squashed. Between the dispersal draft of 1991 and the arrangement with the Stars and Sharks whereby the Sharks could select 4 players from the Stars, there was an exodus of talent. The next year brought about changes in the front office which saw Bobby Clarke move to the Florida Panthers. The Stars finished out of the playoffs in 1992-93 and as if to rub salt into an open wound, they then lost their franchise.

The North Stars were moved to Dallas, where the "North" was removed and the new team was known as the Dallas Stars, where they played at the Reunion Arena. In their first year the Stars finished 3rd in the Central Division and defeated the St Louis Blues in the first round, but feel victims to the Vancouver Canucks in the second round. The club was sold to Tom Hicks in December of 1995, and in January of 1996, Bob Gainey stepped aside as coach to be replaced by Ken Hitchcock who was coaching the Stars IHL affiliate in Kalamazoo.

1996-97 saw the Stars capture the Central Division crown, but despite their power, the Edmonton Oilers took the Stars in 7 games. The following year, Andy Moog was replaced by Eddie "the Eagle" Belfour and so began a small rebuilding session for the Stars. Shawn Chambers was signed as well as Mike Keane, and Brian Skrudland.

1997-98 saw the Stars win the President's trophy for the most points, with 109, edging out the Red Wings and New Jersey Devils. Battling injuries, the Stars eliminated San Jose in 6 games, then the Oilers in 5, but saw them lose to the Detroit Red Wings who went on to win their second straight Stanley Cup.

In 1998 Brett Hull signed as a free agent with the Stars and seemed to inject some life into the club. The Stars finished first in the Pacific Division and went on to take the Stanley Cup by disposing of Edmonton, St Louis, Colorado and defeating Buffalo in the final. The 1999-2000 season once again saw the Stars finish first in the Pacific Divison and again they went all the way to the finals taking out Edmonton, San Jose, Colorado, but couldn't quite make it past the New Jersey Devils who took the cup in 6 games.