In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Cassius argues to Brutus that it’s not random events, or bad luck, or fate, or the divine that shape human destiny, but our own foibles and actions; we alone are responsible for how things turn out.

We can argue this, but that would be to miss the larger point.

The Stars hit the wall. Injuries played a big role. So did the Olympics. I’ve offered here that it’s a devil’s bargain, these mid-season nationalistic boondoggles. YAY - a team we put together yesterday won a gold medal - cool… except now we have no shot at winning a Stanley Cup… I hate the Olympics and how the NHL got roped into it.

And no team got hit harder by the Olympics than the Stars. Injuries to Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz, and Miro Heiskanen greatly contributed to not being able to run down Colorado for the one seed, and being run over by the Minnesota Wild as the series dragged on.

We almost forget about Tyler Seguin too, gone too early this year and not to return. Last spring he was a pretty big factor poppin 4 goals, 3 at even strength, one in OT to help get Dallas out of the first round.

Yeah - you could smell this one comin, but it doesn’t make it easier. The end is always hard. Especially when you have a team that you thought was primed for another run.

But were they? Really?

Here, I’ll grade all the principals, and offer thoughts on what we might look at going forward. With my usual disclaimers -

I’m not inside anymore. I don’t ask too many questions. I won’t violate anything they’ve said to me in confidence - which isn’t much anyway.

This is all me, Stars fan, former broadcaster for 25 years for them, Stars HOF inductee, but now, a bit more objective outside observer who doesn’t buy the swampland NHL GM’s, coaches, and insiders pedal so freely, and the media who always swallows it, swamp, land, gators and all, in big gulps.

When you’re out - and you hear from the people in there covering it - you hear it pretty clearly in every phrase or read it in every written line.

Here, as always, I pull no punches.

What faults do the Dallas Stars bring to the party, aside from all the other stuff, that continue to hold us back?

Is leadership a problem in there?

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One of my very favorite sports movies is the 1986 film “Best of Times”, with Robin Williams and Kurt Russell. In it, Williams, whose adult life has been shaped by a dropped touchdown in the big high school game, convinces Russell (as quarterback Reno Hightower) and the rest of the town that all these years later they need to replay the game. The whole town gets into it - love is rekindled, and - Hollywood style - they go down big at half, but rally to win on the last play of the game. Reno Hightower unloads a desperate bomb to Jack Dundee (Williams), who makes the impossible catch for the win.

At the end of the film, Jack’s wife approaches him on the muddy field. Dundee says to her, “I was so lucky…”.

She responded - “No…. you were due.”

The Minnesota Wild were due. They were overdue. And their focus was sharp, intense, and deliberate. They checked hard, they played fast, and they defended with grit. The Stars needed machetes to get to the blue paint Glen Gulutzan wanted them to own, and yet, all Dallas’ blades were dull, and their handlers were gassed.

It’s a lot for a team, playing that deep three straight years. It takes a toll. And the Olympics did us no favors. None at all. The wounds were severe, taking Dallas quietly out of a legitimate shot at the number one seed, and crippling them when they needed all hands on deck.

TNT’s John Forslund had a great line at game’s end - “It’s a shame these two had to meet in the first round, but that’s the neighborhood they live in.” Nice Johnny. Really nice.

In the coming days we’ll talk here about what we saw this spring, and what might be next. Because when a team like this loses in the first round, no matter the opponent, there is an opportunity for real introspection. And that means every stone gets turned from the top down.

Running it back… probably not this time.

Tonight - is as big a night The State of Hockey will ever have. You watched them in there. You saw the joy. It’s new. Fresh. We’ve had our fun - and we will again. But this spring when the Wild score, it’s euphoria among the players. When Dallas finds the net, it’s relief. You saw it. You watched it yourself.

The Stars wanted to win the Cup. The Wild wanted to win a series. This series. Against this team.

Here’s how they closed it out tonight.

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It’s coming up on 7:00 am in the Coachella Valley, and I’m up, and about an hour away from tracking the latest pregame tease for the Dallas Stars. I have the script from them. You probably don’t know the names John Veitch, or Rene Coronado, but these are the guys front and center on all the awesome videos you see on the screens inside American Airlines Center, and on the broadcasts.

I’ve known them both for years. I worked with them back in the day. Rene can make anything - and I do me anything - sound amazing. The mic and small midi I travel with was wonky before Game 3, so Rene had me duck under my bedcovers in the hotel in St. Paul, lean toward my computer, and use the internal mic. Then he does his magic to it. While we don’t like to do it that way… the show always goes on.

Veitchie - one of my favorite people I’ve ever worked with. My daughter, who worked in our production department while finishing high school will tell you the same thing. He’s quiter than a mouse pissing on cotton - he’s actually quieter than a mouse not even thinking about pissing on cotton. (credit - Mamet - Heist) His work speaks loudly, profoundly, and with great impact.

Veitch writes it. I tweak - but our tweaking abilities are now overseen by corporate forces inside the Stars offices. I don’t know those people. It’s not super restrictive - but - everybody gotta weigh in and claim turf and so on. It’s like this everywhere. Corporate America… ugh.

How it goes, man.

Here - you’ll get a sense of what we’re going to lay down - and what you’ll hear on social media and the broadcast. And you’ll also see my script - the one I would have written if they let me write it - with no oversight.

And even I’m struggling to figure out what to say and how to say it.

C’mon - this ain’t over yet - it’s just - you know - it’s always darkest before it goes completlely black…

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I’m pretty sure I know what I’m watching, and truth be told, I’m resigned to thinking I won’t be watching it too much longer. The Wild are on the trot, they got healthy, and Dallas - well - my Stars are fading fast.

Does that make me a fatalist? Hmmm. Have I carried that with me from my days in Minnesota and my continuing plight as a Vikings fan?

I call my brother this morning. He’s still in Minnesota. He grew up a North Stars fan, as we all did. Like soft drink choices, or religions, or most other things that stay with you forever, the die is cast by the time you’re about 11 or 12 years old. Those things are fixed. Those things are part of you and your core, forever. You’ll find other interests, and teams to root for later in life - but nothing can touch the fan experience as a child, and how that shapes and stays with you.

Now, he’s a Minnesota Wild fan. He lives there. This has been his team for the last 25 years. But, by his own admission, and by the admission of most of my friends from the area - it’s not the same. They don’t feel now - about the Wild - the same way they felt then - about the North Stars.

And the North Stars left. We left. We’re in Texas 33 years. Most Minnesotans feel only animosity, or, much worse about their former NHL club.

“I’m not letting myself get excited about anything. I’ve been here before. We’ve been here before with Dallas. It’s not over.” My brother said to me this morning.

If I’m a Minnesota Wild fan - I’m coming out of my shoes. The Wild have figured Dallas out. The Wild rookie goaltender is beating the big money guy at the other end of the ice. Dallas can only score if they get on the power play - which they’re doing less and less, and only their top scorers are threats.

And tomorrow night in St. Paul - a home game, in The State of Hockey, to kick us squarely in the crotch, and hard, and send us back to the Lone Star State with tons and tons of questions.

But the Minnesota sports fan is a different breed - and they come by it quite honestly. Their hockey team moved, and the one they got hasn’t been out of the first round in… forever. Their baseball team hasn’t been near it in decades - not really. Their NBA team - comin - but - who knows. And the Vikings - the Vikings torment us all and in ways those of you have seen a Super Bowl win in your lifetime can’t possibly imagine. Handing the QB whose career we revived over to Seattle without a fight so they could win the Super Bowl hardly surprises anyone here.

But, it can all be set aside for the dedicated Minnesota sports fan, if for just a few days if they pull this off. All of it. All the disappointment, all the horrible and untimely defeats, all the gnashing of teeth and wailing at the Northern Lights.

But - and I can attest - like my brother - there isn’t a single Minnesotan worth their salt that doesn’t think the Wild are gonna choke on this, and Dallas is going to comeback.

Let’s go a little deeper.

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When the series began, I told you I was concerned. I told you that the Stars are trying to win a Stanley Cup, and the Minnesota Wild have a singular focus on beating this opponent and winning this round.

The Wild’s task, as difficult as it is, is more manageable. And they want this one. Badly. The State wants it, Bill Guerin wants it, Mike Modano wants it. The Wild players want it. Some have been there a long time without getting out of the first round. Twice, it’s been the Dallas Stars, those pricks who left Minnesota and left the hockey community out in the cold.

And right now, after a most convincing 4-2, Game 5 win over the Stars in Dallas, it’s the Wild’s series to lose.

Dallas was outplayed at every turn, and every position. They shot their load in Game 4, and couldn’t get it done. Game 5, they were feeble.

Is this the end of the run?

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It was a very strange thing we were hearing around the North Stars dressing room in the spring of 1991 and during the Stanley Cup Final. We were the longest of long shots heading into the playoffs, yet here we were, with a 2-1 series lead against Mario Lemieux and the Penguins. Just two more wins - two more - and we’d be Stanley Cup champions. In my first year in the booth. With that team. It was - a surreal experience.

Stars goaltender Jon Casey, from Grand Rapids, Minnesota, (the same town in which my mother was born and Judy Garland spent her youth) was outstanding, as you have to be, to get us that far. And then - something happened.

Something very personal that the outside world never knew about. And it was over. He wasn’t himself, and got pulled in Game 5, and we’re down 3-2 heading home for game 6. Home ice. We got creamed 8-0. Pittsburgh skated the Cup that night on our home ice.

It was a shitshow downstairs post game, as I was tasked with interviewing players in the Penguins room. I wish we would have had the term shitshow back then because it was perfect. Our mic feed didn’t work, the room was tiny and people were everywhere, sprayed champagne and cigar smoke, and I was young, a Stars fan, and just wanted to get the hell out of there.

What happened to Jon? We heard a story - and I’ll share what I can here.

The thing is - fans don’t know so much. Sorry - that’s the deal. I don’t know so much any more. I hear things - I got a few folks around it - but I’m not inside as I once was.

We don’t want them to be - but players are very human. Things happen. And you can’t fool a pro. You can’t piss up their leg and tell him it’s raining.

What’s going on in there now? In the Dallas room and around it? I’m gonna make a few guesses and tell you what I think - as always… let’s go.

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I saw Anze on TV yesterday and it reminded me of an interaction with him that left a lasting mark.

Yeah - I stayed up for overtime for Ducks/Oilers. And - what the hell? Forget the review, which may or may not show you what you think or believe depending on which camp you’re in. The call on the ice was good goal? How do you see that? I have video and stills, and this is insane, really.

And, I’ll say it - Jamie Benn isn’t a factor on the ice - like - not at all - and what should we think and do - if anything - about that?

We’ll discuss.

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This is such a damned interesting world ain’t it?

You know the one - the afternoon knows what the morning never suspected? I mean I sorta figured the 10:35 flight out of Minneapolis this morning would have some Stars folks and fans on it. I ran into more than a few fans at the gate - some actually knew or remembered who I am and was. I had a brief exchange with the very sharp Morning News reporter Lia Assimakopoulos, and spoke with Wyatt Johnston’s parents, Margot and Chuck.

Lemme take a minute here on behalf of Margot and Chuck. I don’t think Wyatt reads RalphStack (huge error - but he’s young…) but - back row, coach, by the toilets for those two? Seriously? Margot, who playfully asked me about RalphStack SubStack RalphStack, with what I’m assuming is a trademark twinkle in her eye, rolled them both on her way down the aisle past me toward the very back of the aircraft. I told them both if I see the kid - I’ll try and offer some harsh words like - “hey kid - it’s your parents - get off your wallet and get em up front will ya?”

At the gate I reintroduced myself to Mercedes Robertson. I met her in Las Vegas a couple of years ago after a playoff game. I just said hey then. We didn’t really speak. But she remembered me - or did a good job of faking it...

We spoke briefly this morning at the gate, then we board, and I see her at my seat aisle as I’m walking toward it and I bellowed - “hey - let’s go - get that bag up there and get into your seat.”

“So it’s like that, is it? Is that how this is gonna be?” Mercedes asked me.

Oh yeah. And lemme tell ya - she’s a great seatmate and fun sparring partner. I learned a lot about the family, about early training for the young boys (by Russian coaches), and lots and lots more. We had a grand time.

C’mon - I’ll tell you about it - it’s really good.

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It was supposed to be the first round’s feature series - and it is - and by a mile.

We can argue about the NHL divisional-based playoff system, and lament the sad reality that one of these two teams will be done in a week or less, but while it’s here, let’s enjoy this remarkable series.

While this epic battle is destined for at least six games, the big winner appears to be the Colorado Avalanche, who are cruising against LA, and could complete the sweep tomorrow afternoon. That would give the President’s Trophy winners about a week off before they have to play whatever is left of whomever gets out of this one.

But let’s get into this one - it was hard to be in there for that. And I was in the suite with Tom Gaglardi, Brad Alberts, Marty Turco and others. We all know and get the game. We all know what can and does happen. And it never makes it easier.

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People can’t believe it when I tell them that most of my best of the best friends in my life are guys I went to elementary school with. Neighborhood guys. Guys from “Nordeast” - Northeast Minneapolis and the close surround. I’ve known some of these guys 60 years, having met in first grade.

And on this trip - I’ve tried to see every damned one of em. And I have, give or take. My dear fellow degenerate card players, neighborhood enthusiasts, sports junkies, and Vikings diehards always manage to get me laughing like a crazy man.

And having connections here as I do, and knowing people as I do, I’ve had a big couple days of grand adventures and good times. It’s - way different this week than my normal life - not better exactly - but wonderfully different.

And we got a hockey game today - tonight - and even that’s a thing among those who sweat what to say for a 4:30 start…. And I got some thoughts on that, of course.

Let’s do it, as we all bubble with anticipation for the opportunity in front of the Stars tonight.

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What a difference a few days make. Feels a little different now doesn’t it?

That’s the Stanley Cup playoffs for ya. You win a game you think you’ll win it all - you lose one - you think you’ll never win another. After Minnesota came in and pushed the Stars around in Game 1 in Dallas, the Stars sprang off the mat, and have ripped off consecutive wins, including a very ballsy effort in St. Paul last night - wait - and this morning - to take a 2-1 lead in the series, restore home ice advantage, and put the Wild in a very close to “must win scenario” in Game 4 on Saturday. 3-1 in a series generally - is church.

The Stars will play the “trade power play chances” game with anyone - and they’ll win most if not all of those. They won this one on a night when 15 combined power plays were handed out. Dallas’ 8th, in the second overtime, saw the Stars score their third power play goal of the game, and sixth of the series. Dallas has at least one in each of the three games.

It wasn’t easy and it was far from perfect. Jake Oettinger probably wants two of the three that got behind him back. Jamie Benn - not his night. And there were large stretches where Dallas didn’t engage, especially in the first OT period. They managed only 2 shots and were lucky to get out of the frame.

And I was right there - in the building - hanging off the ledge of the suite right over the net Dallas found four times, including in OT. It was an interesting night for all involved - let me tell you more - including - what the key to the power play was tonight.

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Stars - Wild… the history is insane. This is the storyline isn’t it? Little brother finally ready to take big brother down. Complicated. Our history - our birth state - our Stars come from Minnesota. And so do I.

As an odd aside - I just cut the Stars Game 3 tease - and some - not anyone I really know - internally with the Stars don’t feel like this storyline should be acknowledged so much. Like - really? It’s why I’m out of corporate America.. lol.

I mean - we all know the storyline here - right? Right?

And I've been a big part of this - I’m a lynchpin, I’m a connector. Me and Neal Broten - the only Minnesota born people in the Stars Hall of Fame. Neal is all Minnesota now. Neal - is a WILD guy.

But not me. I bleed Victory Green. I’m all Dallas Stars. I know - as much or more than anyone alive on the franchise and this subject. I’m the expert now..:)

And I feel more at home in Dallas than in Minnesota, my home state. I can confirm that just over the last couple of days. I fly into Dallas and I’m jacked. It feels great! I fly into Minny - and I’m - blah… I had trouble here - personal and professional. My father cast a huge shadow here. I had to get out. And I’m always jittery when I come back.

Everything happened for me in Texas. I met my wife (now ex-wife but great friend), had our daughter, called a Stanley Cup Championship, made wonderful friends. Lived in a beautiful place on a perfect street.

I worked for great people - Tom Hicks, Tom Gaglardi, and with really talented creative people who get it. I’m closer friends now with Brad Alberts - I’m in your Hall of Fame.

Business was great - I made more money and had more opportunities than I ever had or would have had in the Twin Cities. The local sports community didn’t like me - not one bit. It was - very hard here for me.

The team and I moved from a provincial and medium sized market, into the big time, and it was amazing. All of it. I’m so thankful for how this all turned out. For me - the Stars relocating to Texas was the best thing that could have happened.

I say that fully aware that the Stars defection caused much distress among the locals and local hockey community. It was quick, jarring, disruptive. It was emotional, and those emotions still fester. My friends and family were devastated - not because I left - but because the NHL did. And they still harbor large grudges. Almost every damned one of them.

And now I’m back, following this series long after I left the NHL. And it’s fun and crazy and emotional - and - very strange.

Let me tell you about it - about me - about the team - and what we’re all walking into tonight in Game 3.

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What we saw in the Dallas net last night, quite simply, was elite playoff caliber goaltending, and in a game the Dallas Stars absolutely had to have. Jake Oettinger stopped 28 of 30 Minnesota shots, and was named the game’s number one star, with a performance that - if he can keep duplicating it - the Stars may well go on a run.

It’s just one game, but it’s the playoffs - you know - win a game you’ll win it all - lose a game and you’ll think you’ll never win another. That’s the swings this time of year.

I don’t like this series - it’s dangerous for the Stars. And going down 0-2 and heading to Minnesota would have been - well - not good. So that’s averted, and now a split in Minnesota means Dallas would regain home ice. That’s a very tall task, but a lot more manageable than the alternative.

Also - Mikko’s awake - and Dallas’ top guys outplayed the Wild’s top guys in this one. It was percussive, it was chaotic, it was mean-spirited, and it was beautiful.

Let’s talk more - it’s 1:00 am ish - I’m typing in bed and I go tomorrow to Minnesota to watch Games 3 & 4 in the Stars suite. And that - for me - to go back to my and the club’s birth state - is - cool - and a little scarry…

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A year ago tomorrow, we’ll celebrate Dallas’ 2025 playoff opening game loss to Colorado, 5-1. They were worse than second best that night - and much worse than that tonight in their 2026 playoff opener against Minnesota. The good news for Stars fans is, Dallas won that series in 7 to advance. But it made things much tougher, and long early series can contribute to shorter playoff runs.

So can injuries, and wear and tear. Dallas has played tons of hockey over the last three springs, the Olympics didn’t help them - but they’re not the only ones - the Wild had a bunch of players there as well.

The Stars were flat, disengaged, and unable to match the urgency and high-level play of their opponent. And to be sure, this is a high-level and motivated opponent, singularly focused on advancing, and putting the Stars lights out with great dispatch.

The Minnesota Wild took a huge step in Game 1, walking in, putting their feet on the furniture with zero pushback, and pummeled the Stars 6-1, in a game that never felt close, to steal home ice, and take a 1-0 series lead.

What happened? Can the Stars get back in the series? Or - did they draw the absolute worst possible opponent, at the worst possible time?

Oh - and I ran into Tyler Seguin twice in the mens room. I’ll fill ya in.

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Pull on that Victory Green jersey, put on that lucky cap, get your favorite snacks and beverages setup, and get ready to settle in for a crazy couple of weeks, because (think SNL’s Stefon…) this Stars/Wild series HAS EVERYTHING!

If you’re looking for a good time… look no further than the Dallas’ hottest spot this time of year - the American Airlines Center - club promoter Tom Gaglardi has gone all out - inside you’ll see tall people, people with green wigs, screaming children, laser lights, throw-up music, a woman wearing a hat made from Mike Modano’s hair, restroom karaoke - that’s that thing where you go into the bathroom during the game and you try and talk along with the Stars broadcast on the loudspeakers while you’re navigating the urinal…

Ahhh - but seriously folks - have we got a series for you. The storylines are insane, and there’s a lot at stake. I had dinner last night in Dallas with Wild Play-by-play guy (and new RalphStack subscriber) Anthony Lapanata and we kicked it around.

Lapanta and I went to the same high school. Totino-Grace in the Twin Cities. I graduated in 79 - he was 86. I helped setup all my old gigs for him when he was up and coming. He’s another guy I’m quite proud of - and to see him doing so well is just terrific.

But - we’re on opposite sides for this one - he knows it and so do I. And even that is little storyline - but - so far down that it won’t make this list - because get ready for heroes and villains to emerge, conflict arcs up the whazzoo, and a very even series where even oddsmakers can’t quite get a handle on it.

Let’s talk about some of the big things to look for - that maybe aren’t getting looked at as closely as they need to be - and how I might bet the series - although - I wouldn’t touch this one.

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There was a time when I used to love to travel. I traveled all the time for work of course, as the Stars Play-by-play guy for 25 years. We traveled well - private charters, first class hotels, amazing food and good people.

I used to love traveling domestically to visit people and see and do things. But as you all know, domestic airline travel has become a very tricky thing, even for those of us with airline status and means.

I did the math - over 3000 hotel nights in my life between work and life. That’s like - ten years of my life spent in hotels. And all the bullshit that goes with all of it - that even a private charter or Four Seasons hotel can’t quite erase.

So now - I’m a homebody. The last time I was on an airplane was the flight back from Dallas for my Stars Hall of Fame induction weekend in November of 2025. But here I am again.

I started Wednesday morning with a flight to Las Vegas - just spent two days there catching up with friends. Now - right now - I’m on the plane to Dallas. And I’ll be following the Stars/Wild series in both cities. Just like old times…

Except I’m not on the charter - or in the team hotel (those bastards are staying in my usual hotel in Minneapolis and I don’t want to be in their way…)

So - how is this all gonna shake out - and - I do have a small but important job for the team - where I get to use my voice… wanna hear about it???

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There’s stuff I’ve never gotten about the NHL - and one of those things is - Columbus. Like - why is the league still there? It’s the number 34 TV market - meh - not terrible but - not worth breaking our necks over.

Also they don’t win. Ever. Only six trips to the playoffs all time. One playoff series win in their 25 years. No playoff appearances in the last six seasons. Only 4 out of 14 coaches in their history have winning records with them - including Rick Bowness who was thrown in there late this season - seemingly because GM Don Waddell knew the phone number by heart.

Remember - this team hired Mike Babcock and he couldn’t get past the summer player meeting phase when he got all weird about looking at player’s instas and Biz led the mob to oust him before he coached one game behind the bench.

And that’s a big, big part of the problem there, and across the NHL. And so if that’s the best they can come up with - hiring 70 year old Rick Bowness because he’s part of the club - the North American born GM and executive club - then why should the players give a shit?

Seriously. We’re in trouble - we’re firing our coach - and hiring - another one of those guys… great…

And this has nothing to do with Bones - Rick Bowness - one of the great guys in hockey. Wonderful guy. And the record says he did a fine job with the Jackets - except the part where they won only 2 of their last 10 games with a playoff berth on the line.

So last night, after Game 82 - and a mail-in effort from his charges - Bones got emotional. Said things.

But again - aren’t we all missing the point here?

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I’m on the phone the other day and someone asks me - someone who should know better asks me - “who are you rooting for in the Stars/Wild series?”

To be fair to the questioner, I get this question a lot, and from the most surprising places. Let me give you an unequivocal answer;

I’m rooting for the Stars - of course. Like - seriously?

I was born in Minnesota in 1961 (same as the Vikings…), lived there for most of my life until the Stars left for Texas and I went with them. I grew up a Minnesota sports fans and in an era where you didn’t even entertain rooting for other teams from other places. No - you showed up on the playground in 1969 with a sick new Miami Dolphins lid or something and - you’d get the shit kicked out of you.

As a child, and a young man, I was IN - all in - on all Minnesota sports. Not so much the Gophers - but all pro sports. I was a huge Vikings and North Stars fan. Like - HUGE. The Twins were just ok when I was a kid - and then they snagged a couple titles on my way out of town - great… I guess… but that didn’t really do much for me. And the NBA didn’t get back there until about the time we all left.

The Vikings and the North Stars were my teams. The Vikings… oh dear…

And the North Stars? Well - I worked for them from 1990 - 1993. Then I moved with the Stars and worked for them in Texas. The Wild came into the league in 2000 - 2001 - WHEN I WAS LIVING IN TEXAS AND WORKING FOR THE STARS!

I left the Stars booth in 2015, but stayed in Texas until 2018, then I moved to the Coachella Valley where I now live. Last fall I was inducted into the Dallas Stars Hall of Fame. I just tracked the arena opens for the playoffs - and I’ll be sitting with Stars president Brad Alberts for all the games.

Who are you rooting for in the Stars/Wild series???

While it’s an easy one for me - it’s also super easy for the people in Minnesota too - even those with connections to the past. They’re Wild fans - and they want to destroy us and leave nothing left but a rotting carcass in the middle of the road.

Let me tell you about my home state, the hockey climate, and the people in it - and why this series means everything to everyone there.

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This is my favorite time of the year - the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs. For so many, many years it meant the most electric time in my professional career. I loved calling playoff games. Man… there’s nothing like standing in a full building with the season on the line, guts churning for us all, and me on the headset tasked with calling the biggest moments - and not screwing them up.

The thing is - about the job I did - is every night you don’t know what you might see. You prepare for all contingencies - you’re ready and you’re a pro - but you’re also invested. That’s the thing about being a local guy and not a national guy. I did both. Local guy broadcasting is way more fun and heart wrenching. We live and die too with them - it’s impossible not to. You’re on the busses and airplanes together all year - a pretty small group really when it gets right down to it. You know who’s hurt - who’s playing through whatever - you know who isn’t coming back - you see the bruises when you walk into the room.

I loved it - I loved this time of year. And I still do. As a fan now - but as a very engaged fan. Stars President Brad Alberts invites me (or am I now just inviting myself… haha) to sit in his suite for the games, and I’m planning on going to every game in both cities - given the history - my history.

And I’ll write about it here. Tell your friends - the ones who dropped out because Ralph writes all kinds of crazy shit - that I’ll be playoff writing again - pretty much every day here on my SubStack.

And I really used to love voicing those playoff teases for broadcast - to get the fans ready for what they’re about to see.

Well friends - if you’re going to the American Airlines Center for the playoffs - I got something for ya you might like… come on in… let me tell you about it…

(That was a tease…)

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It was the penultimate game of the 1990-91 season, and I was in my first year in the Stars booth, and things were lining up. This was the old 21-team NHL, where 16 teams made the playoffs. If you missed, you were really really bad. We made it that year - with a record of 27-39-14. Bob Gainey was the coach. Mike Modano was 21 years old.

That late season game was a divisional tilt against the Chicago Blackhawks. Ed Belfour backstopped the mighty Hawks to a first overall record, and a President’s Trophy finish to the regular season. We were in the Norris Division in those days, with Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit and Toronto. And in those days, like now, playoffs were divisional. In those days, like now, we could see that first round opponent coming a mile away. In 1991 - we were locked and gonna get the Blackhawks in the first round. Oh boy...

The North Stars players and coaches circled March 30, 1991, on the calendar. Game 79 of 80. Stars/Hawks at Met Center. We knew for weeks that this was going to be our first-round draw. Coaches worked on things against other teams down the stretch they would try and implement in the series. The rehearsal meant a lot to this team. I do remember that. I also remember I had a thing at ice level prior to the game and I saw the look on their faces as they were warming up.

This was real…

And we beat em that night 2-1. And that set the table for a first-round upset, and an unlikely run for us to the Stanley Cup Final that year.

That one meant something and you could see it. Sense it. Feel it. Last night in Dallas, a first-round preview with Stars/Wild, and a game that did not disappoint.

But - what does it really tell us?

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