All-Time Stars: The players we forgot were once Dallas Stars

The Blackout Dallas team remains anxious with Dallas Stars training camp now underway. It will not be long before we are previewing and reviewing Stars regular season action. For now, the annual “All-Time Stars” series steps up to the plate.

We are continue our trip down NHL memory lane by highlighting 5 players we forgot wore a Dallas Stars sweater.

Honorable mentions:

Mats Zuccarello (2018-19): The Dallas Stars acquired Mats Zuccarello at the trade deadline from the New York Rangers. A broken arm sustained in his first game wearing Victory Green immediately put Zuccarello on the shelf. He returned to the lineup at the onset of the playoffs, toughing out 13 games with cortisone injections.

Jaromir Jagr (2012-13): Jaromir Jagr played for so many NHL teams on the back half of his career that it’s easy to forget he was a Dallas Stars. Jagr was 40 when he signed a one-year deal with Big D and scored 14 goals. He was traded to the Boston Bruins in April, as the Stars struggled to remain competitive in the Pacific Division.

Sheldon Souray (2011-12): The Dallas Stars signed Sheldon Souray to a one-year deal in hopes of shoring up their blue line. Souray came off an injury-riddled final season with the Edmonton Oilers and took on a more defensive role with the Stars. The Alberta native scored his 100th NHL goal in Dallas before signing with the Anaheim Ducks during 2012 offseason.

5. Matthew Barnaby (2006-07)

Matthew Barnaby earned 7 points and 127 penalty minutes with the Dallas Stars in 2006-07. It was Barnaby’s final NHL season, capping a decent, 14-year career.

The Stars signed Barnaby with the intent of improving the team’s ability to play physical. However, the Ottawa native’s one-year deal is often forgotten by Stars fans because it shares the same offseason as the Lindros signing.

Barnaby was one of the most aggressive forwards of his era and no stranger to dropping the gloves. The former 4th round pick (1992) of the Buffalo Sabres registered 11 fights during his time in Dallas. His last career fight was a brief, January 2007 scrap with Josh Gratton of the Arizona Coyotes.

The Dallas Stars were a more physical team in 2006-07 and clinched the Western Conference’s 6th seed. However, the 3rd-seeded Vancouver Canucks powered by the Sedin twins ended Dallas’s season in the 7th game of the quarterfinals.

3. Claude Lemieux (2002-03)

Claude Lemieux was traded to the Dallas Stars by the then-Phoenix Coyotes for Scott Pellerin and a 4th round draft pick. Lemieux played 32 games with the Stars in 2002-03, posting 6 points and a plus/minus of -9.

Adding Lemieux in 2002-03 was about increasing versatility in the Dallas lineup. The Stars led the Western Conference at the time of the Lemieux trade. Unfortunately, Dallas was upset by the 7th-seeded Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the conference semifinals. Lemieux saw action in 7 Stars’ playoffs games, but hardly made an impact with 11:24 minutes of average ice time.

Claude Lemieux is one of only 11 players in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup with 3 or more franchises. Lemieux’s cup wins came with the Montreal Canadiens (1986), New Jersey Devils (1995 and 2000), and the Colorado Avalanche (1996).

A native of Quebec, Lemieux was 37 at the time of his trade to the Stars and coming off a foot injury. He was a shell of his former, enforcer self and would leave the NHL for the Swiss Nationalliga in 2003-04.

2. Tim Thomas (2013-14)

Tim Thomas played 8 regular season games for the Dallas Stars in 2013-14. The net-minder was 2-4 with 2.97 GAA and a .902 SV%.

Thomas was 39 when acquired by the Stars from the Florida Panthers in exchange for Dan Ellis. At the time, Dallas was seeking a veteran goalie with playoff experience to serve as backup and reliever to Kari Lehtonen. The Stars swung the deal for Thomas on March 5, 2014, but it did not pan out.

Thomas was a fraction of his former self in Dallas. The one-time Stanley Cup champion saw action in one Stars playoff game, giving up a goal on 2 shots. It was the last time fans would see the USA Hockey Hall of Fame goalie in NHL action.

The Boston Bruins enjoyed the best years of Tim Thomas’s career. Thomas still holds the NHL record for most saves during a playoff run (798) and in a Stanley Cup Final series (238).

From the fan’s perspective, Thomas was mentally checked-out by the time he put on a Stars sweater. Still, his brief, often forgotten tenure in Dallas provides for one heck of a Stars trivia question.

1. Sean Avery (2008-09)*

Sean Avery takes the top spot on our list because of the circus that surrounded his brief Dallas Stars tenure. Avery played 23 games with the Stars in 2008, accumulating 10 points and 77 penalty minutes.

Signing Sean Avery to a 4-year, $16 million deal was not one of Brett Hull’s finest moments as co-general manager. Avery enjoyed a successful pair of seasons with the New York Rangers that included Selke Trophy consideration. However, the 5-foot-10 forward’s disruptive antics off the ice out-weighed the advantages of his pestering play.

The Dallas Stars waived Avery after he publicly made disparaging comments about his ex-girlfriends. Avery was also suspended by the NHL for his conduct. Such conduct created insurmountable tension between Avery and his Stars teammates.

The Rangers ultimately claimed Avery off re-entry waivers. He saw 18 games of NHL action in New York before the close of the 2008-09 season.

Forgetting that Sean Avery was a Dallas Stars is not a bad thing. -J.G.