Being a sports fan is a journey. From questioning whether your team are contenders or pretenders or if they’re just mediocre, sports teams don’t make a habit of being kind to their fans.
One of my favorite teams is the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League, as they were the first NHL team in Minnesota as the North Stars, before moving down to Dallas in the early 90s.
Just like any other team, the Stars haven’t been consistently bad or good throughout their history. In more recent times, they’ve been a higher echelon team making the playoffs seven times in the last ten years.
Because of their skill and talent, they’ve always made their fans believers in their ability to compete. However, they’ve found ways to frustrate and scare their fans more than once, even more so in recent times.
While I’m sure I’ll have more moments to add the more I watch the Stars, I thought it’d be useful for future and current hockey fans to understand how the Stars have hurt their fans. From the playoff failure to the regular season frustrations and everything in between.
Back in 2020, the Stars went on a torrent playoff run eliminating the Calgary Flames in six games in round one. They made the Colorado Avalanche pack up in game seven thanks to an overtime thriller. And thanks to one Dennis Gurianov, they eliminated a drama-filled Vegas Golden Knights squad in five games.
This set them up to face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup final. This was a chance to win the ultimate prize in hockey, even if it’d have an asterisk due to playing a shortened season because of the pandemic. They proceeded to not show up and ran out of gas, losing in six games to a dominant Lightning squad.
They got back in the playoffs in 2022 to rematch the Calgary Flames. Goaltender Jake Oettinger was integral in supporting an uninspiring Stars squad that forced the Flames to the brink, only to lose via a squeaker that trickled into the net.
They’d rebound next year, making it into the 2023 playoffs. They faced the Minnesota Wild, who seemed more interested in playing unethically and bad-talking the Stars. It didn’t seem like they were actually trying to win games in the playoffs.
It only took six games for the Stars to move onto the newest NHL franchise, the Seattle Kraken, who were on a miracle run of their own. Unfortunately for them, they’d run into an actually competent team in the Stars. They lost in game seven. With only one more team before the finals, the Stars had to stay focused on the end goal of the Stanley Cup.
They faced the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final and played god-awfully. One play encapsulated the entire match up with the Golden Knights. In game three Jamie Benn cross-checked Mark Stone directly in the neck in a completely bone-headed play.
He did not stay in the building to answer questions or support his team. The Stars then lost in six games to the eventual Stanley Cup winning Golden Knights in a completely pathetic and awful showing by the Stars. The next year, the Stars made the playoffs again and had to face the Golden Knights in round one after a terrific regular season performance.
Regardless of these factors, the Stars had to atone for the sin of playing poorly in last year’s playoffs. Despite fighting an uphill battle against the previous season’s Stanley Cup winners, the Stars went all the way, beating the Golden Knights in game seven.
They then had to face a juggernaut Avalanche squad. In one of the weirdest plays I’ve ever seen, an overtime winning goal in game six was discredited because it was an unsatisfying end. There is no other explanation for why the teams had to play into another overtime period for the same result, with the Stars winning in six games.
For the second straight year, the Stars made the Western Conference Finals. This time they faced the Edmonton Oilers. A squad who, earlier in the year, could not get out of their own way. A squad whose best currently active player was Connor McDavid.
That same squad made the Stars pack it all up in six games. The Stars looked tired and lost many times in the series, as we were unable to get past the great enigma that is Stuart Skinner.
As they say, third time’s the charm. The Stars made the playoffs again in 2025. Former Avalanche superstar Mikko Rantanen single-handedly carried us to round two, dealing with the Avalanche in seven games. They’d defeat the Winnipeg Jets, the best regular-season team, in six games. They then had a rematch with the Oilers, again in the Western Conference Finals.
Not learning from the mistakes of their past, the Stars decided practicing insanity is what would get them over the hump. It did not. The Oilers made even quicker work than last time, beating them in five games.
There is more I haven’t talked about that this team has done, including throwing star players under the bus, constantly losing before the big game and blowing a three-goal lead in a minute to a fringe playoff contender. It’s sickening.
But the Stars lure us fans with the promise that they’ll make it over the hump. That this time they’ll reward our patience. That this year is the year — but is it?
Time will tell when the Stars will decide to reward fans with the Stanley Cup again. They have a promising team this year. But they’ll still frustrate us even if they win it all. It’s what they do best — it’s what makes them the Dallas Stars.
Baker can be reached at [email protected].
