The Dallas Stars finished their 57th season in the NHL in 2023-24, spending the first 26 years of their existence as the Minnesota North Stars. After relocating to Dallas, Texas, for the start of the 1993-94 season, the Stars eventually won the Stanley Cup in 1999, becoming the third team from the 1967 Expansion to win a championship.
Interestingly, the Stars came into the league simultaneously with the Philadelphia Flyers, who have also retired six numbers, the lowest number of their expansion class besides the Pittsburgh Penguins (two). Despite a single championship in their history, the Stars have been one of the NHL’s best playoff teams, appearing in the Stanley Cup Final five times with 10 trips to the conference final.
Related: 10 Best Dallas Stars Playoff Runs in Franchise History
As we look back at the players whose numbers hang in the rafters at American Airlines Center, it’s hard not to see how instrumental their careers were in the franchise’s success.
Stars Honor the Late Bill Masterton – Jan. 17, 1987
Every year the NHL awards the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy to the player that “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey” in honor of Masterton, who is the only player to ever die due to a hockey hit. As the first player signed to play with the expansion North Stars in 1967, he made his NHL debut and scored the team’s first goal on Oct. 11, 1967.
Unfortunately, disaster struck on Jan. 13, 1968, when Masterton tried to pass through two defenders, resulting in him crashing to the ice head-first. Sadly, the injury was severe enough that surgery was not an option, and he never regained consciousness, dying less than two days after being admitted to the hospital. Eventually, the North Stars honored him by retiring his No. 19 in 1987 after his career was cut short after just 38 games.
Stars Honor Franchise Icon Bill Goldsworthy – Feb. 15, 1992
After trying to establish himself as an NHL regular, Bill Goldsworthy got a chance to showcase his skills when the North Stars selected him in the 1967 Expansion Draft. Within a few years of donning the green and yellow jersey for the first time, he became a four-time All-Star and the first member of an expansion team to score 200 and 250 goals.
Eventually, Goldsworthy left Minnesota after ten seasons to play with the New York Rangers, finishing his professional career in the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1979. However, upon his departure from the North Stars, he left as the team’s all-time leading goal scorer (267) and point collector (506), marks eventually passed by future players. Ultimately, the team honored him one year before relocating by retiring his No. 8 jersey in 1992.
Stars Honor Olympic Gold Medalist Neal Broten – Feb. 7, 1998
Neal Broten may have a Stanley Cup ring from his brief time with the New Jersey Devils in 1995, becoming the first American in NHL history to score a Cup-winning goal. However, he will always be synonymous with the Stars franchise, retiring as the franchise leader in games played, goals, and points in 1997.
Interestingly, Broten served as an alternate captain for most of his career, becoming captain for just 17 games in 1994-95. Even though his international and college accomplishments earned him induction into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000, he is one of the best players ever to wear a Stars jersey. Within a year of hanging up his skates, Dallas honored him by retiring his No. 7 in 1998.
Stars Honor Hockey Hall of Famer Mike Modano – March 8, 2014
Although the Stars franchise has had their fair share of Hockey Hall of Famers dress in their lineup, there will always be one player who stands out: Mike Modano. As the first-overall pick in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, he became arguably the greatest skater in Stars history, with his name on almost every team record, from goals, assists, points, and game-winning goals, to power-play goals.
Although a handful of records are on the verge of being broken by longtime captain Jamie Benn, there has never been a player like Modano in the Stars’ history. Ultimately, he was there for the best and worse times, eventually playing a significant role in their lone championship in 1999 at the age of 28. As one of the best American-born players in the game’s history, he had his No. 9 retired by the organization months before entering the Hall of Fame in 2014.
Stars Honor 3-Time Selke Winner Jere Lehtinen – Nov. 24, 2017
Considering the Stars franchise didn’t retire any numbers for 16 years, the team has recently honored a few players from the 1999 championship team. Besides Modano, Jere Lehtinen became the next member to have his number retired after winning three Frank J. Selke Trophies as the league’s best defensive forward.
Interestingly, Lehtinen is the only player on this list, except Masterton, to play his entire career with the Stars organization. After being a draft pick for the North Stars in 1992, he didn’t come to North America until 1995, when the Stars were already in Dallas. Eventually, he retired from the NHL in 2010, and the Stars would honor him seven years later in 2017, a year before being inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame.
Stars Honor Their Best Defenseman Sergei Zubov – Jan. 28, 2022
By the time Sergei Zubov came to the Stars in 1996 in a trade for Kevin Hatcher, he was already a veteran of 229 games with a Stanley Cup ring from his time with the New York Rangers. Within three years of his acquisition, Dallas won a championship, and he’d spend the final years of his career building a resume worthy of enshrinement into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
After his retirement in 2009, Zubov remains one of the best Stars players of all time, ranking in the top ten in games played, assists, points, shots, and plus/minus. Interestingly, when he hung up his skates, he was the highest-scoring Russian defenseman in league history but now ranks second behind Sergei Gonchar. Eventually, the Stars retired his No. 56 in 2022, three years after his induction into the Hall of Fame.
The Future of Stars’ Retired Numbers
As of 2024, there have been no formal announcements about who the Stars may honor next with a banner in the rafters. Eventually, it is a safe bet to say that Benn will join these players in the retired number club, especially when he breaks several of Modano’s records.
Related: Revisiting the Dallas Stars’ 1999 Stanley Cup Run
Interestingly, the franchise has yet to honor any goalies, so there are no guarantees that Ed Belfour and Marty Turco get the call anytime soon. Historically, Belfour is the only netminder to win the Stanley Cup, while Turco owns most of the team’s goalie records.
Realistically, after launching the Dallas Stars Hall of Fame in 2022, the team can honor players who positively impacted the franchise on and off the ice instead of retiring jerseys. During their first induction ceremony, the Stars recognized former general manager Bob Gainey and former captain Derian Hatcher. Interestingly, fan voting is available for those who wish to have their voices heard for this year’s inductees.
