In the NHL, many teams can boast of success. Victories in the Stanley Cup, star fives, legendary events ... But there were clubs that almost always remained in the role of middle peasants and outsiders, while maintaining their own style and color. Many of them left only memory.
Middle peasants cross
The Minnesota North Stars entered the National Hockey League (NHL) during its expansion in the 1967-1968 season. A partnership of nine businessmen and politicians has secured the right to create a professional team in the home state of Minnesota, which has always been famous for its hockey traditions.
The name was chosen by the whole world as a result of the survey. “Northern Stars” is almost a direct tracing-paper with the motto on the coat of arms of the most snowy state of the USA - “Star of the North”. Literally in a year in the capital of Bloomington, and not in the much larger Saint-Paul and Minneapolis, the Met-Center ice palace was built for the club. In truth, when he accepted the first games, he was not yet completely completed. I really wanted hockey.
In the very first season, a tragedy struck the team: on October 11, 1967, the first Minnesota puck in the NHL scored by Bill Masterton, and on January 13, 1968, he died after being injured in a match with California Sils. After the collision, Masterton fell on his back and hit the back of his head on the ice: they did not play in helmets then ... This was a real blow for the team, which resulted in a series of defeats. However, the next season, “Minnesota” first flashed, reaching the Stanley Cup semi-finals.
However, in the future, the team, for various reasons, mainly dragged on itself the cross of the middle peasant and the outsider of the league.
The fierce competition from the club of the World Hockey Association "Minnesota Fighting Sainz", located in Saint-Paul, did not have the best effect on the fate of the team. Resource from local players was sprayed on two teams. And both did not shine in their leagues. Only the Minnesota North Stars survived, but the fans were tired of endless setbacks, and the attendance of matches dropped sharply by 1978. To strengthen the team, there was a merger with the Cleveland Barons club. However, this did not change the situation much.
Last shine
Despite the fact that for the first time the Stars reached the Stanley Cup finals in the 1980/1981 season, the 1990/1991 season is considered the most successful in the history of Minnesota North Stars. Then, at the regular season stage, the team took with great difficulty only fourth place in the Norris division and seemed the first candidate for a relegation in the first round of the Stanley Cup. However, the "Stars" caught the courage began ... No, do not ruin. It will be more accurate to say, patiently grind rivals. First, “Chicago Black Hawks” - 4-2 (4: 3, 2: 5, 5: 6, 3: 1, 6: 0, 3: 1). Then in the final of the division “St. Louis Blues” - 4-2 (2: 1, 2: 5, 5: 1, 8: 4, 2: 4, 3: 2). After in the final of the Campbell conference "Edmonton Oilers" - 4-1 (3: 1, 2: 7, 7: 3, 5: 1, 3: 2). But in the Stanley Cup finals on the “Pittsburgh Penguins” forces were not enough - 4-2 (5: 4, 1: 4, 3: 1, 3: 5, 4: 5, 0: 8). It is significant that the team lost the last defeat with the biggest score for themselves in the season!
It was during this season that perhaps the most stellar group gathered in Bloomington. Bellows, Modano, Propp, Dalen, Gagnet, Brotin ... Even well-known Murphy and Musil, who were not very personally successful, appeared. An excellent catalyst was the non-talented coach Bob Gainey. More “Minnesota” to such a height did not rise.
Hockey team "Minnesota North Stars": the composition of the season 1990-91
And the stellar lineup of the Stars that season was like that.
| No. | Player | The country | Games | Washers | Gears | Fine |
| Goalkeepers |
| thirty | John casey | USA | 55 | - | - | - |
| 1 | Brian Hayward | Canada | 26 | - | - | - |
| 35 | Yarmo Mullis | Finland | 2 | - | - | - |
| 1 | Kari takko | Finland | 2 | - | - | - |
| Defenders |
| 24 | Mark Tinordi | Canada | 82 | 10 | 33 | 267 |
| 6 | Brian Glynn | Canada | 89 | 10 | 17 | 101 |
| 5 | Neil Wilkinson | Canada | 72 | 5 | 12 | 129 |
| 2 | Kurt Gilles | Canada | 80 | 5 | 10 | 64 |
| 8 | Larry Murphy | Canada | 31 | 4 | fifteen | 38 |
| 4 | Chris Dalkwist | USA | 65 | 3 | 12 | 53 |
| 8 | Jim Johnson | USA | 58 | 1 | 10 | 152 |
| 26 | Sean Chambers | USA | 52 | 1 | 10 | 40 |
| 3 | Rob Zettler | Canada | 47 | 1 | 4 | 119 |
| 6 | Frantisek Musil | Czechoslovakia | 8 | 0 | 2 | 23 |
| 32 | Peter Taglianetti | USA | 16 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| 46 | Dan Ketchmer | USA | 9 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 36 | Pat MacLeod | Canada | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 40 | Dean Colstad | Canada | 5 | 0 | 0 | fifteen |
| Extreme hitters |
| 23 | Brian Bellows | Canada | 103 | 45 | 59 | 73 |
| 16 | Brian Propp | Canada | 102 | 34 | 62 | 86 |
| 9 | Mike Modano | USA | 102 | 36 | 48 | 77 |
| 22 | Ulf Dalen | Sweden | 81 | 23 | 24 | 10 |
| 10 | Gaetan Duchenne | Canada | 91 | eleven | 12 | 52 |
| 12 | Stuart Gavin | Canada | 59 | 7 | 14 | 56 |
| fifteen | Doug Smile | Canada | 58 | 7 | thirteen | 38 |
| 25 | Ilkka Sinisalo | Finland | 46 | 5 | 12 | 24 |
| 20 | Mike Craig | Canada | 49 | 9 | 5 | 52 |
| 27 | Shane Churla | Canada | 62 | 4 | 3 | 376 |
| 17 | Basil Macro | Canada | 62 | 2 | 4 | 318 |
| 31 | Larry De Palma | Canada | 14 | 3 | 0 | 26 |
| 29th | Warren babe | Canada | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 37 | Don barber | Canada | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 45 | Mike McHughs | USA | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | Kevin Evans | Canada | 4 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| Center Forwards |
| fifteen | Dave Gagnier | Canada | 102 | 52 | 57 | 142 |
| 7 | Neil Brotin | USA | 102 | 22 | 69 | 32 |
| 18 | Bobby smith | Canada | 96 | 23 | 39 | 116 |
| 17 | Perry Berisan | Canada | 53 | eleven | 6 | thirty |
| eleven | Mark Bureau | Canada | 32 | 3 | 9 | 24 |
| 37 | Mitch Messier | Canada | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Steve Gotaas | Canada | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
The general manager and trainer is Bob Gainey.
Goodbye Bloomington! Hello Dallas!
In “Minnesota North Stars” in 1990-91, in the star season, the owner changed, or rather the hostess (Norma Green), who immediately set out to transfer the team to a more “fishy” place than Bloomington. At first, the Los Angeles Stars project was considered. However, the place was taken by the Walt Disney Company, which in Anaheim released the “mighty ducklings” (Anaheim Mighty Ducks) to the local “pond”. The club failed to settle in their homeland - in Saint-Paul and Minneapolis. So the "Stars" in Minnesota went out ...
In general, despite the fact that Norma Green in Bloomington is still called the Norm Grid (Greed - greed), in the end, since 1993, Dallas has become the new home for the Stars. But that's another story. Just like the story about the appearance in the NHL club "Minnesota Wald" in the 2000-2001 season. Moreover, it is based in Saint-Paul.
Just one, or Dislike for ours
“Minnesota North Stars” - a hockey club from Minnesota - was extremely unfriendly and skeptical about players from the former USSR and Russia. Only a fairly aged star of Riga “Dynamo” of the 80s Helmut Balderis tried on a yellow-green form. He played only 26 matches, scored 3 goals and made 6 assists. Not much...
But we often played with ours
“Minnesota North Stars” quite often met with our hockey players. As part of the 1983 Super Series, she played with the USSR national team, and in 1989 she came to the USSR for a series of matches with Soviet clubs.
Stars "Stars"
Despite the chronic setbacks, many talents played for Minnesota. In the career of many prominent players appear matches for the “Stars”. However, the team for them was only a career stage. Nevertheless, six Minnesota North Stars hockey players are included in the Hockey Hall of Fame. These are Leo Boven, Mike Gartner, Larry Murphy, Gamp Worsley, Dino Sissarelli and Mike Modano.
However, much more for the club did Bill Goldsworthy and Bill Masterton. Their game numbers (8 and 19, respectively) no one else had the right to use.
Club record holders
Best Minnesota North Stars statistics from 1967 to 1992.
- Regular season games: 1567 - Cesare Magnano.
- Washers: 342 - Brian Bellows.
- Assists: 547 - Neil Brotin.
- Penalty time: 796 minutes - Basil Macro.
- Victories (for goalkeepers): 420 - Cesare Magnano.
- Playoff games: 201 - Gilles Meloch.
- Playoff goals: 104 - Steve Payne.
- Assists in the playoffs: 35 - Bobby Smith.
- Playoff Points: 50 - Brian Bellows.
- Penalty time in the playoffs: 83 minutes - Willy Plett.
- Playoff wins (for goalkeepers): 45 - Gilles Meloche and John Casey.