page_title: Dallas Stars
section_title: Transition seasons (2008–2011)
hierarchical_section_title: Dallas Stars / Franchise history / Transition seasons (2008–2011)
caption_attribution_description: English: Kari Lehtonen of the Dallas Stars, warms up at the American Airlines Center before the match-up against the Chicago Blackhawks.
context_page_description: The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League as a member of the Central Division of the Western Conference. The team was founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars, based in Bloomington, Minnesota. Before the beginning of the 1978–79 NHL season, the team merged with the Cleveland Barons after the league granted them permission due to each team's respective financial struggles. Ultimately, the franchise relocated to Dallas for the 1993–94 NHL season. The Stars played out of Reunion Arena from their relocation until 2001, when the team moved less than 1.5 miles into the American Airlines Center.
  The Stars have won eight division titles in Dallas, two Presidents' Trophies as the top regular season team in the league, the Western Conference championship twice, and in 1998–99, the Stanley Cup. Joe Nieuwendyk won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs that year.
  In 2000, Neal Broten was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
context_section_description: The 2008–09 season saw the early loss for the season of captain Brenden Morrow to an ACL tear. Off-season free agent acquisition Sean Avery caused a media uproar over comments he made to a Canadian reporter about ex-girlfriend Elisha Cuthbert and her relationship with Calgary Flames' defenseman Dion Phaneuf before a game in Calgary. The incident forced the team to suspend Avery for the season; he was later waived by the Stars. That incident, plus injuries to key players Brad Richards and Sergei Zubov, caused the Stars to tailspin to a 12th-place finish and the first missed playoffs for Dallas since 2002.
  In the wake of the season, the Stars hired a new general manager, former player and alternate captain Joe Nieuwendyk. Hull and Jackson remained with the Stars, but were reassigned to new roles within the organization. Less than a week after he was hired, Nieuwendyk fired six-season head coach Dave Tippett on June 10, 2009, and hired Marc Crawford the next day as his replacement. Other off-season moves included the addition of Charlie Huddy as assistant coach in charge of defense and the promotions of Stu Barnes and Andy Moog to assistant coaches.
  The Stars' 2009–10 season was similar to the previous one. Inconsistent play and defensive struggles plagued the team throughout the season, as they failed to adjust to Marc Crawford's new offensively-minded system, and owner Tom Hicks' financial troubles prevented the team from spending more than $45 million on payroll, over $11 million beneath the league salary cap. The Stars failed to win more than three games in a row all season, finished in last in the Pacific Division and repeated their 12th place conference finish from the year before with a record of 37–31–14 for 88 points. This was the first time that they would miss the playoffs two seasons in a row since the Stars moved to Texas. In the off-season, long-time goaltender Marty Turco was let go in favor of Kari Lehtonen to become the team's number one goaltender for the future. In the Star's last game of the season, away against the Minnesota Wild, Mike Modano was named the game's first star and skated around the rink after the game wearing his North Stars uniform, receiving a rousing ovation.
  In the 2010 off-season, the Stars released Marty Turco and Mike Modano, the face of the franchise for the past two decades. Modano subsequently signed with the Detroit Red Wings while Turco joined the Chicago Blackhawks. Winger Jere Lehtinen, who played his entire career with the Stars, announced his retirement in December 2010. The team also made key acquisitions, such as winger Adam Burish (who was on the 2010 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks) and goaltender Andrew Raycroft. They also gave Jonathan Cheechoo a try-out, but he was cut and later signed with division rivals San Jose Sharks.
  To begin the 2010–11 season, the Stars won their first three games in a row, going on a three-game win streak for the first time since the 2008–09 season by beating the New Jersey Devils in overtime in the season opener, New York Islanders in a shootout and against Mike Modano and the Red Wings. In that same game in the home opener against the Red Wings, the Stars crowd gave Modano a standing ovation as he was shown on the American Airlines Center jumbotron during a timeout in the game.
  After a hot start to the new season the Stars would dominate the first half of the season, staying in both the Pacific Division lead and within the top three spots of the Western Conference. It seemed like the old Stars were back, as through the first half of the season they compiled a 30–15–6 record. However after the All-Star Break the Stars went into a slump, going on numerous losing streaks which included one-goal losses and blowing late leads in numerous games. Through this though, the Stars still remained in the playoff picture. On the day of the trade deadline, the Stars traded up and comer James Neal and Matt Niskanen to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenseman Alex Goligoski. After struggling much of the second half of the season the Stars
caption: Kari Lehtonen during the 2010–11 season. He was named the team's number one goaltender after they let go of longtime goaltender Marty Turco.
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