Brett Hull (Stars)

```mediawiki Brett Hull is a Hockey Hall of Fame right wing whose most celebrated seasons came with the St. Louis Blues, but his tenure with the Dallas Stars — spanning the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 NHL seasons — produced one of the most debated moments in Stanley Cup history and cemented his place in Dallas sports lore. Hull signed with Dallas as a free agent before the 1998–99 season, joining a Stars squad already built around center Mike Modano and defenseman Derian Hatcher. His first season with the franchise ended with a Stanley Cup championship, though the victory came attached to lasting controversy. He recorded 32 goals in 1999–2000.

Hull was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009. His career totals — 741 goals and 1,391 points across 19 NHL seasons — rank him among the most prolific scorers the league has produced. He won the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP and the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct during his peak years with St. Louis; he never won the Art Ross Trophy, which goes to the NHL's leading point scorer each season.

The 1999 Stanley Cup and the Crease Controversy

Hull's most lasting contribution to Dallas Stars history arrived on June 19, 1999, when he scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in triple overtime of Game 6 against the Buffalo Sabres at Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo. The goal ended the series 4–2 in favor of Dallas and gave the franchise its only Stanley Cup championship to date.

The goal was immediately disputed. Hull's right skate was visibly inside the crease when he put the puck past Sabres goaltender Dominik Hašek. Under the NHL's crease rule as it stood in 1999, a goal was to be disallowed if an attacking player had a skate in the crease before the puck entered it. Officials allowed the goal to stand, and NHL officiating supervisor Bryan Lewis cited a rule interpretation that permitted a player to be in the crease if he already possessed the puck — an interpretation that had not been publicly articulated before that moment. The NHL subsequently eliminated the crease rule ahead of the 1999–2000 season, a decision widely seen as an acknowledgment that the rule had been confusing and inconsistently enforced. For Sabres fans, the goal remains a source of genuine grievance. For Stars fans, it remains the championship moment.

Hull finished the 1999 playoffs with 8 goals and 14 points in 23 games.

History

The Dallas Stars trace their origins to the 1967–68 NHL expansion, when the league doubled in size from six to twelve teams and awarded a franchise to Minneapolis–Saint Paul. That team, the Minnesota North Stars, played at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, for more than two decades before ownership difficulties and declining attendance led to relocation. The franchise moved to Dallas ahead of the 1993–94 season, becoming the first major professional hockey team in Texas. The move reflected the NHL's broader strategy of expanding into Sun Belt markets, a push that also brought franchises to Anaheim, Florida, and later Nashville, Atlanta, and Columbus.

The Stars played their early Dallas seasons at Reunion Arena, a venue originally built for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. They moved into the American Airlines Center at the start of the 2001–02 season; the arena, which cost approximately $420 million to construct, opened in July 2001 and seats around 18,500 for hockey. The facility is located in the Victory Park neighborhood of downtown Dallas, adjacent to the Dallas Arts District.

Hull's signing in 1998 was part of a deliberate effort by Stars general manager Bob Gainey to add proven scoring depth around Modano, who was the franchise's offensive cornerstone but benefited from having a proven finisher alongside him. Hull had scored 70 goals in a single season with St. Louis in 1990–91 and was one of the best-known players of his generation. Head coach Ken Hitchcock integrated Hull into a defensive system that the Stars ran more rigorously than most NHL teams of that era, and Hull adapted — his counting numbers were lower than his St. Louis peak, but the team won.

Geography

Dallas sits in north-central Texas on the eastern edge of the Blackland Prairie, roughly 30 miles east of Fort Worth, with which it forms the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States by population. The city is bisected by the Trinity River, and Interstate 35E connects it southward to Waco, Austin, and San Antonio. Summers are long and hot, with average July highs around 96°F (36°C); winters are generally mild, though ice storms occur and can disrupt the region significantly.

The American Airlines Center sits at 2500 Victory Avenue in the Victory Park district, roughly five blocks north of Dealey Plaza and within walking distance of the West End Historic District. Its location makes it accessible from multiple DART light rail stations, including the Victory station on the Green and Orange lines. The arena hosts Stars home games, Dallas Mavericks NBA games, and a year-round schedule of concerts and events.

Culture

Hockey wasn't a natural fit for North Texas when the Stars arrived in 1993. The region had no significant hockey tradition, youth participation was minimal, and the sport competed for attention against the Cowboys, Mavericks, Rangers, and college football programs with deep local roots. The 1999 Stanley Cup championship changed the team's profile substantially. Attendance at the American Airlines Center has generally been competitive with league averages, and the Stars maintain active youth hockey development programs in partnership with local rinks across the metroplex.

Hull's presence during the championship run gave Dallas hockey fans a recognizable star at a time when the franchise needed one. Modano was beloved locally but wasn't a national name in the way Hull was. That combination — a homegrown franchise player and a famous import — is a pattern Dallas sports fans recognize from other teams. The Stars have since developed their own stars in players like Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, but the 1999 roster, with Hull at its center, remains the reference point for what the franchise can accomplish.

Dallas's broader sports culture is shaped by the coexistence of several major professional franchises — the Cowboys (NFL), Mavericks (NBA), Rangers (MLB), and FC Dallas (MLS) among them — creating a market where individual teams must work to build loyalty. The Stars compete in that environment by emphasizing community ties and on-ice results. The 1999 championship remains the clearest argument for their place in the city's sports identity.

Notable Residents

Dallas has attracted and produced a wide range of prominent figures across business, entertainment, and athletics. Brett Hull, though not a Dallas native — he was born in Belleville, Ontario, on August 9, 1964 — became a significant local sports figure during his time with the Stars and remains associated with the franchise's championship era.

Ross Perot, the business magnate and two-time independent presidential candidate, built much of his fortune in Dallas through Electronic Data Systems, which he founded in 1962 and later sold to General Motors for $2.5 billion. His son, Ross Perot Jr., developed the Alliance Texas project in Fort Worth and has been involved in various real estate ventures across the metroplex.

Actor Owen Wilson was born in Dallas in 1968. Erykah Badu, the R&B and neo-soul artist, was born and raised in the city and has remained a fixture of its music scene throughout her career. Larry Hagman, who played J.R. Ewing on the television series Dallas, lived in the area and became closely identified with the city's image nationally.

Economy

The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex economy ranks among the ten largest in the United States, with a gross domestic product exceeding $600 billion annually as of recent estimates. The region's economic base includes finance, technology, healthcare, telecommunications, and transportation. Major employers include AT&T, American Airlines, Texas Instruments, and several large hospital systems.

The American Airlines Center contributes to the local economy through event-related spending — tickets, parking, food and beverage, and hotel stays — as well as through the permanent jobs associated with operating a year-round arena. A 2019 economic impact study commissioned by the arena estimated that it generates approximately $200 million in annual economic activity for the city, though independent assessments of sports venue economic claims often find those figures to be overstated when measured against broader city data.

The Stars' 1999 championship had measurable effects on merchandise sales and regional media attention, though quantifying the long-term economic contribution of a single sports season is difficult. What's clearer is that the franchise's continued presence supports a sports economy in Dallas that spans arena operations, broadcast rights, youth programming, and the broader hospitality industry that serves event attendees.

Attractions

Dallas offers a range of cultural and recreational attractions centered on its downtown core and surrounding neighborhoods. The American Airlines Center is one of the most active arenas in the country by event count, hosting more than 200 events per year across hockey, basketball, concerts, and other programming.

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, which documents the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, draws hundreds of thousands of visitors annually and is one of the most-visited sites in Texas. The Dallas Museum of Art, located in the Arts District adjacent to downtown, holds a permanent collection of more than 24,000 objects and offers free general admission. The Nasher Sculpture Center, also in the Arts District, houses one of the most significant private collections of modern and contemporary sculpture in the world, assembled by the late Raymond and Patsy Nasher.

The Bishop Arts District in the Oak Cliff neighborhood offers independent restaurants, galleries, and shops within a walkable streetscape and has drawn significant investment and attention over the past decade. Deep Ellum, east of downtown, has historically been the city's primary live music and nightlife district, with roots going back to blues and jazz clubs of the early twentieth century.

Career Statistics with Dallas

Hull played two full seasons with the Dallas Stars. In 1998–99, he scored 32 goals and added 26 assists for 58 points in 60 regular-season games, then contributed 8 goals and 6 assists for 14 points in 23 playoff games as Dallas won the Stanley Cup. In 1999–2000, he scored 24 goals and added 35 assists for 59 points in 79 games. He left Dallas after that season and signed with the Detroit Red Wings. His two seasons with the Stars produced 56 goals and 118 points in the regular season, plus the championship. That's the record. ```