The Dallas Stars franchise first came to the National Hockey League for the 1967-68 season as the Minnesota North Stars. They remained the North Stars until the end of the 1992-93 season, when made the move to Texas.
In their history, the team has retired the numbers of five players. Two of the three played in that inaugural 1967-68 season.
7 – Neal Broten
Number 7 is retired in honour of Neal Broten. Neal was a third round pick of the North Stars at the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. He played with Minnesota from 1980-81 to 1992-93. He was on the roster for the first season in Dallas but was traded to the New Jersey Devils midway through the following season. He returned to play a handful of season after being traded from the Los Angeles Kings during his final season in the NHL.
He played just three regular season games in 1980-81 but dressed for 19 in the playoffs as the North Stars reached the Stanley Cup finals before losing to the mighty New York Islanders. Since he was considered a rookie in 1981-82, his first full season in the NHL, Broten’s 38 goals and 98 assists that season both still stand as franchise rookie records. His 76 assists in 1985-86 still stand today as a franchise record.
Neal is in the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, inducted in 2000. He served as team captain of the Stars in the lockout shortened 1994-95 season. The Neal Broten rookie card appears as number 164 in the 1982-83 O-Pee-Chee set.
8 – Bill Goldsworthy
Number 8 is retired in honour of the late Bill Goldsworthy. Bill had seen limited time with the Boston Bruins in 1965-66 and 1966-67. The North Stars picked him up in the expansion draft and he was an immediate regular with the club in 1967-68. Goldsworthy played with the North Stars until a trade sent him to the New York Rangers during the 1976-77 season. He played just one more year in the NHL with the Rangers before leaving. He did spend some time in the World Hockey Association with the Indianapolis Racers in 1977-78 and the Edmonton Oilers in 1978-79.
Never a champion in the National Hockey League, Bill was part of the Memorial Cup winning Niagara Falls Flyers in 1964-65, his last year of junior hockey. Goldsworthy served as team captain of the North Stars for the 1974-75 and 1975-76 seasons. The Bill Goldsworthy rookie card appears as number 148 in the 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee set.
9 – Mike Modano
Mike Modano, as expected, had his number 9 retired by the Dallas Stars on March 8, 2014. That year, he was also inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
Modano was the first overall pick at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, going to the North Stars. he played with Minnesota from 1989-90 to 1992-93 and Dallas from 1993-94 to 2009-10. He played 40 games with the Detroit Red Wings in 2010-11 before retiring to the head office of the Stars as a Senior Advisor. He also has owner ship in the Allen Americans of the Central Hockey League.
Mike is the all-time franchise leader in goals (557), assists (802) and points (1,359). He served as team captain from 2003-04 to 2005-06. In 1990-91, eleven different hockey cards were produced that can be considered the Mike Modano rookie card. The card we’re showing here is the 1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #348.
19 – Bill Masterton
Number 19 is retired in honour of the late Bill Masterton. Masterton played all of 38 games in his NHL career, all with the North Stars in 1967-68. As the result of a body check and resulting brain hemorrhage sustained in a game against the Oakland Seals on January 13, 1968, Masterton died in hospital two days later.
Bill had proven offensive abilities, finishing seventh in the American Hockey League with 82 points as a member of the Cleveland Barons in 1962-63. Since 1967-68, the Bill Masterton Trophy has been awarded to the NHL played that most shows dedication, sportsmanship and perserverance. No hockey card was ever produced of Bill Masterton during his playing days. In 2004-05, In The Game honoured him with a retro card.
26 – Jere Lehtinen
On November 24, 2017, the Stars retired jersey number 26 in honour of Jere Lehtinen. Jere played 875 regular season games in the National Hockey League between 1995-96 and 2009-10, all with Dallas. Over that time, he scored 243 goals and assisted on 271 for 514 points. In 108 playoff games, he added 49 points.
During his NHL career, Lehtinen was honoured with the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward three times (1997-98, 1998-99 and 2002-03). He helped the Stars to a Stanley Cup championship in 1998-99.
Not a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, Jere was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2018. He is one of just seven hockey players to appear in the Olympic Games five times. He is one of just six to win four Olympic medals in ice hockey.
Lehtinen is currently the General Manager of the Finnish National Ice Hockey Team. His number 10 is retired in Finland by Espoo Blues. All this not too darn bad for a lowly fourth round pick at the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, 88th overall by the Minnesota North Stars.