The
Minnesota North Stars were an American professional
ice hockey team based in
Bloomington, Minnesota , a city in the
U.S. metropolitan statistical area of
Minneapolis–Saint Paul . The team joined the
NHL in 1967 as an
expansion team with five other teams; the
Cleveland Barons , another 1967 NHL expansion team, were merged with the North Stars in the
1978–79 season . The North Stars played in the
Stanley Cup Finals twice: as the
Prince of Wales Conference champions in the
1980–81 season , and in the
1990–91 season after winning the
Clarence S. Campbell Bowl , but lost in both Finals. The North Stars played their home games at the
Met Center . The team relocated to
Dallas , Texas in 1993, after former owner
Norman Green announced that he was moving the team to Dallas's
Reunion Arena in search of a better economic situation, and are now known as the
Dallas Stars . The North Stars played in the
Norris Division of the
Clarence Campbell Conference in the
National Hockey League (NHL) in
their last season . There were 16
head coaches for the North Stars team.
The North Stars' first head coach and general manager was Wren Blair , who coached for the first three seasons, and was the North Stars' general manager until 1974; Jack Gordon , Lou Nanne , and Bob Gainey were also the general manager of the North Stars during their tenures as head coach. Nine of the first twelve North Stars head coaches lasted less than two complete seasons, while ten of the first twelve head coaches have spent their entire NHL head coaching careers with the North Stars. Gordon was the first North Stars head coach to have coached more than two complete seasons, with four.
Several head coaches have had multiple tenures with the North Stars. Glen Sonmor served three terms as North Stars head coach. He is the North Stars' all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached, regular-season game wins, regular-season points , playoff games coached, and playoff-game wins. Sonmor's first term lasted five seasons, the longest duration for one North Stars head coach term; his last term lasted two games, which was the shortest tenure. Blair, Gordon and Charlie Burns each served two terms as the North Stars' head coach. None of their second terms were winning seasons.
Burns, Ted Harris , Parker MacDonald , Nanne, and Murray Oliver had once played for the North Stars ; Burns is the only person to have been a player-coach for the North Stars, having done so in the 1969–70 season . 1980 U.S. Olympic "Miracle on Ice" coach Herb Brooks , who coached the North Stars in the 1987–88 season , is the only North Stars head coach to have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder ; Harry Howell and Gainey were inducted as players . Sonmor and Gainey are the only head coaches to reach the Stanley Cup Finals with the North Stars, in the 1981 and 1991 Finals respectively. Gainey was the last head coach of the North Stars; he coached the franchise until the 1995–96 season .
Key
General
#
Number of coaches
*
Spent entire NHL coaching career with the North Stars
†
Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder
Achievements
Achievements during their North Stars head coaching tenure
Regular-season
GC
Games coached
T
Ties = 1 point
W
Wins = 2 points
PTS
Points
L
Losses = 0 points
Win%
Winning percentage
Playoffs
PGC
Games coached
PW
Wins
PL
Losses
PWin%
Winning percentage
Head coaches
Head coaches with multiple tenures
Notes
^ A running total of the number of coaches of the North Stars. Thus, any coach who has two or more separate terms as head coach is only counted once.
^ Each year is linked to an article about that particular NHL season.
References
^ U.S. Census Bureau (July 1, 2006). "Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006 (CBSA-EST2006-01)" . Archived from the original on September 5, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Teams Index" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on August 27, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2009 .
^ McFarlane, Brian (1990). 100 Years of Hockey . Summerhill Press. ISBN 0-929091-26-4 .
^ McCarthy, Dave, ed. (2008). The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2009 . Dan Diamond Associates. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0 .
^ "Clarence S. Campbell Bowl" . National Hockey League . Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2009 .
^ "Stanley Cup Champions and Finalists" . National Hockey League . Archived from the original on June 29, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2009 .
^ Youngblood, Kent (March 7, 2008). "Rising in the North: NHL comes to Minnesota" . Star Tribune . Archived from the original on June 10, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2009 .
^ Montville, Leigh (April 19, 1993). "Norm Green is reviled in Minnesota for his decision to move the North Stars south" . Sports Illustrated . Time Warner . Archived from the original on September 18, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Dallas Stars History" . CBS Sports . CBS Interactive . Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Dallas Stars" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on September 15, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Dallas Stars Coach Register" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "2008-2009 Media Guide" (PDF) . National Hockey League and the Dallas Stars . p. 264. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 21, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2009 .
^ "2008-2009 Media Guide" (PDF) . National Hockey League and the Dallas Stars . p. 266. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 21, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2009 .
^ "Charlie Frederick Burns" . Hockey Hall of Fame . Archived from the original on June 17, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2009 .
^ "Herb Brooks - Builders Category" . Hockey Hall of Fame . Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2009 .
^ "Players - Harry Howell" . Hockey Hall of Fame . Archived from the original on June 17, 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2009 .
^ "Players - Bob Gainey" . Hockey Hall of Fame . Archived from the original on June 17, 2011. Retrieved September 6, 2009 .
^ "Wren Blair Coaching Record" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "John Muckler Coaching Record" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 10, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Charlie Burns Coaching Record" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Jack Gordon Coaching Record" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Parker MacDonald Coaching Record" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Ted Harris Coaching Record" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Andre Beaulieu Coaching Record" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Lou Nanne Coaching Record" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Harry Howell Coaching Record" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Glen Sonmor Coaching Record" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Murray Oliver Coaching Record" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Bill Mahoney Coaching Record" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Lorne Henning Coaching Record" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Herb Brooks Coaching Record" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Pierre Page Coaching Record" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
^ "Bob Gainey Coaching Record" . Hockey-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 20, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2009 .
Further reading
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