Dallas Stars Top 100 Players of All-Time: 90-81

Yesterday, Blackout Dallas kicked off its countdown of the 100 greatest players in Dallas Stars history, a rundown that comes as the National Hockey League honors their organization’s 100 best athletes in history.

Today, the list of memorable Dallas Stars continues with players #90 through #81, starting with…

#90 – FORWARD, CLAUDE LEMIEUX

With 397 goals and 786 total points, there were few offensive players better than Claude Lemieux in the forward’s prime: the early 1990s. Unfortunately for the Stars, Lemieux – the 1994-95 Conn Smythe Trophy winner -managed to play just 32 of his 1,215 NHL games with the franchise, accruing two goals and four assists.

#89 – FORWARD, MANNY MALHOTRA

Manny Malhotra is arguably the best faceoff-specialist the game of hockey has ever seen, and this allowed the Mississauga, Ontario native to play nearly 1,000 NHL games. While his skillset never translated to major hockey as well as others, Malhotra became a serviceable penalty killer for the Stars, while also adding 11 points over 83 games between 2001 and 2004.

#88 – DEFENSEMAN, SHELDON SOURAY

As a former third-round draft pick to New Jersey, Sheldon Souray‘s road to becoming one of the NHL’s supreme offensive-defensemen was a long and windy one. The Elk Point, Alberta native racked up two seasons with 20 or more goals before coming to Dallas for a 64-game stint filled with a valuable six goals and 15 assists. Souray last played in the NHL with the Anaheim Ducks in 2012-13.

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#87 – DEFENSEMAN, MARTIN SKOULA

Martin Skoula enjoyed a great five-year run with the Colorado Avalanche – the club that drafted him in round one of the 1998 draft – never recording fewer than 13 assists over the span of a season. Skoula brought that consistency to the Stars for a short while, with 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 62 games during the 2005-06 campaign.

#86 – DEFENSEMAN, WILLIE MITCHELL

In an attempt to bolster its defensive core prior to the beginning of the 2006 Playoffs, the Stars acquired 6’3″, 210-pound defender Willie Mitchell, who chipped in just two assists in 21 overall games with Dallas. Mitchell’s career elsewhere, however, was mightily successful, as the blueliner found his name on the Cup twice due to the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014. Mitchell retired last season as the captain of the Florida Panthers.

#85 – GOALTENDER, RON TUGNUTT

In the early 2000’s, the Dallas Stars had trouble transitioning between starting goaltenders Ed Belfour – who departed to play for Toronto – and Marty Turco, the long-term solution in goal. To remedy this, Dallas brought in veteran Ron Tugnutt, whose 18-17-5 record over two seasons helped Turco become the solid netminder we remember him to be. Tugnutt is now the head coach of the Kemptville 73s of the Central Canada Hockey League.

#84 – FORWARD, ERIC NYSTROM

The American forward was best known as the guy who infamously knocked Mikhail Grabovski, Kris Letang, and Daniel Briere out of consciousness, but Eric Nystrom provided a depth scoring punch for the Stars for two seasons, including his 16-goal 2011-12 season. Nystrom recently retired from the game after failing to make the Nashville Predators out of training camp.

#83 – DEFENSEMAN, TEPPO NUMMINEN

20 years in the NHL is a display of longevity and sustained-excellence, which was truly the story of Teppo Numminen‘s career; Numminen tallied 30 or more points in 12 seasons. The Finnish blueliner played one season with Dallas, accumulating three goals and 14 assists over 62 games.

#82 – GOALTENDER, DARCY WAKALUK

As a seventh-round selection to the St. Louis Blues in 1984, Darcy Wakulak played just 191 NHL games, 88 of which came with the Stars, where he recorded an accumulative 31 wins and six shutouts over three seasons. Wakulak retired a year after his last game with Dallas, as a Phoenix Coyote.

Next: Dallas Stars Top 100 All-Time Countdown: 100-91

#81 – DEFENSEMAN, JOHNNY ODUYA

You’ll never hear anyone describe Johnny Oduya as an offensive defenseman, but the 35-year-old Swede is the epitome of reliability and toughness in bottom-four, stay at home defenders. Oduya was an essential part of the Chicago Blackhawks’ 2013 and 2015 Cup runs, and has now become a critical penalty killer for the Dallas Stars.

Stay tuned for more of the Blackout Dallas Top 100 All-Time Stars later on.

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