What if the Stars hadn't left Minnesota?

A reader suggested I write about the parallel universe of the Stars staying in the State of Hockey - and it's taken me into several peculiar, provocative, and paradoxical rabbit holes.

The 1991 Stanley Cup Finalists - The Minnesota North Stars

“YES - YES - YES - THE STARS WIN THE STANLEY CUP!!! THE STARS WIN THE STANLEY CUP!!!

This was my call on WBAP radio, in the early morning hours of June 20, 1999. Brett Hull shoveled the puck under a sprawled Dominic Hasek in the third overtime of Game 6 of the Final to give the Stars their only Stanley Cup win to date.

As a Minnesota native and fan of this team since I’m 6 years old, this was an amazing moment for me. It was an amazing moment for all of us, and especially the fans.

The trouble was - the team (and the fanbase) was in Texas now. And in Minnesota, where former North Stars devotees felt betrayed and beaten, there were only a few who joined in the celebration. Most were hurt and bitter, after the team bolted for Dallas. These things are complicated.

Yesterday, I jumped in on a post about the Minnesota Wild trying to get public support for renovations to The X. Most in the Twin Cities won’t believe this, but I always thought if Norm Green, who put $2 M of his own money into a new Met Center scoreboard (one of the first video gondolas) and new seats, had been able to secure support for Met Center improvements and a retail skyway attached to the Mall of America, it’s likely he would have stayed.

Prompting me to think again about - what if the Stars never left Minnesota? What if that Cup was won under the N-STAR flag, with the parade happening down Hennepin Avenue and not Houston Street? What if the Game 5 win at home against Buffalo happened at “The Arena of the Stars” in Bloomington, and not Reunion Arena in Dallas?

And - what would have happened to me? Not a small thing for this exercise.

This is my view - of what could have happened and how it might have happened. My friends in Minnesota may disagree with some of this, especially when it comes to Norm Green, but I lived this, and I have as good a feel for this subject as anyone alive.

Come with me down the rabbit holes, while I attempt to construct the alternate timeline of the Minnesota North Stars staying the Minnesota North Stars.

Let’s go!

Mike Modano and North Stars Play-by-play man Al Shaver at the 1999 North Stars Stanley Cup Celebration, “Arena of the Stars”, Bloomington, Minnesota, June 24, 1999