Minnesota is the State of Hockey. More Americans play hockey in Minnesota than in any other state, by a wide margin. High school hockey tournaments there draw bigger crowds than some NHL games.
And for seven years, from 1993 to 2000, Minnesota did not have an NHL team, because the North Stars moved to Texas.
The 1967 Expansion
The North Stars were one of six teams added in the NHL's 1967 expansion, the moment the league doubled from six teams to twelve. The others were Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Los Angeles, and California.
Minnesota was the most obvious expansion market in North America. The state had a deep amateur and high school hockey culture going back generations. The University of Minnesota was a college hockey powerhouse. The NHL was not creating a market; it was finally serving one that already existed.
The team played at the Met Center in Bloomington, next to Metropolitan Stadium, and adopted green and gold colors with a North Star logo.
The Bill Masterton Tragedy
On January 13, 1968, in only the franchise's first season, North Stars forward Bill Masterton was checked hard during a game against the Oakland Seals, fell backward, and struck his head on the ice. He was not wearing a helmet, as almost no players were at the time.
Masterton died two days later. He remains the only player in NHL history to die as a direct result of injuries sustained during a game.
The NHL's Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the player who best exhibits perseverance and dedication to hockey, is named for him. His death was a significant factor in the eventual mandating of helmets, though the league would not require them for new players until 1979.
The Cleveland Merger
In 1978, the North Stars were struggling financially, and the Cleveland Barons (themselves the relocated California Golden Seals) were failing outright. The NHL approved a merger, the only franchise merger in modern league history.
The combined team kept the North Stars name and Minnesota location but took the Barons' place in the Adams Division, and the Gund brothers, who owned Cleveland, became the North Stars' owners.
The merger worked. The combined roster was much stronger, and within three years Minnesota was in the Stanley Cup Final.
1981 and 1991: Two Runs at the Cup
**1981:** Led by Bobby Smith, Dino Ciccarelli, Steve Payne, and goaltender Gilles Meloche, the North Stars reached the Stanley Cup Final and faced the New York Islanders dynasty at its peak. They lost in five games. It was the franchise's first Final appearance and a genuine achievement for a team that had been mediocre for a decade.
**1991:** This was the magic one. The North Stars finished the regular season 27-39-14, a losing record, and entered the playoffs as heavy underdogs. Then they beat Chicago, St. Louis, and Edmonton to reach the Final against Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
They lost in six games, but the run captivated Minnesota. Brian Bellows, Dave Gagner, Neal Broten (a Minnesota native and 1980 Olympic gold medalist), and Jon Casey in goal turned a losing season into a Cinderella story.
The Move
Norm Green bought the North Stars in 1990. He wanted a new arena or major renovations to the Met Center and a better lease. Negotiations with Minnesota officials went badly and turned public and bitter. Green also faced a sexual harassment lawsuit that damaged his standing in the community.
Attendance dropped. Green threatened to move. Minnesota fans, furious, coined the phrase "Norm Sucks," which appeared on signs throughout the Met Center.
In March 1993, Green announced the team was moving to Dallas.
The final game at the Met Center was April 13, 1993. The North Stars lost 3-2 to Chicago in overtime. Fans tore out seats and took pieces of the building home.
The Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup in 1999, six years after leaving.
Minnesota got the Wild in 2000, and the State of Hockey got its team back. But the North Stars are still gone, and Minnesotans have not forgiven anyone for it.
The Legacy
**Bill Masterton's memory changed player safety.** The trophy carries his name, and his death is part of why every player wears a helmet today.
**The 1991 run is one of the great playoff Cinderella stories.** A losing regular season into a Cup Final appearance is a rare and beautiful thing.
**They were the only NHL franchise merger.** The Cleveland-Minnesota merger is a unique event in league history.
**The green and gold never died.** North Stars merchandise remains popular, and the Wild's colors and identity deliberately echo the state's hockey heritage. Dallas kept the Stars name, which means the North Stars' name still exists, just 1,000 miles south.
Twenty-six seasons. Two Cup Finals. Zero Cups. And a state that never got over it.
Minnesota Hockey 1967-1993 | Gone to Texas | Vintage Hockey Tee – Odd Man Rush