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See, jerseys are more than just aesthetics — they represent glorious eras and legends.
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Is it time we officially anoint Dallas as a hockey city?
We hate to rub salt in the wound, but this year, the Mavericks made the worst trade in NBA history, and we're still reeling from it. Meanwhile, the Rangers have been middling at best this season. And all the Cowboys seem to know how to do right is disappoint us over and over again.
In the midst of all this turbulence, though, the Dallas Stars have been a model of consistency — quite fittingly, our shining Stars of Dallas sports. Currently, the team is in the Western Conference Finals, marking their third straight appearance. And not to belabor, but they're also now leading Dallas' major league sports franchises with the most conference finals appearances this century. So, in a year full of professional league heartbreak, forgive us for taking every opportunity to revel.
The sport of hockey isn't just about the goals, cross-checks and glove-dropping fist fights. It would be an oversight to say the aesthetics of the team don't matter, too. As such, we’re taking this moment of team excellence to do the obvious: rank each era of Dallas Stars uniform designs.
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For this ranking, we’re adhering to the “eras” as defined by the Dallas Stars Fandom page. And if you hate this ranking, you can thumb through the archives of Stars Jerseys here to make your own verdict.
5. Era 4 (2007-13)
Era 4 jerseys.
Courtesy of Andrew Greenstein/nhluniforms.com
What we wear can often be associated with memories — for better or worse. Not only is this easily the worst era for team branding, but it's also the worst stretch of success for the team in the entirety of its Dallas tenure. It seems these jerseys were trying for a retro, old-school hockey look, but they turned out bland and reminiscent of generic practice jerseys thrown together for an underfunded public school. Given what the players had to wear, it's no surprise that the Stars missed the playoffs in five of the six years of this era and finished last in their division three times. Let that be evidence that aesthetics matter at least a little bit, folks.
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4. Era 2 (1994-99)
Era 2 jerseys.
Courtesy of Andrew Greenstein/nhluniforms.com
These weren’t so much hideous as they were just kind of uninspired. Black and white remained the primary colors, though a darker, forest green started appearing more in contrast to Era 1. But with simple “Stars” text written into an angle of a modest star slapped in the middle, it wasn't exactly the most memorable statement. That is, until the very end of this era, when the team started to phase in its alternate jersey. The design, which featured the oversized star, created dimension for the pullover and would usher in an exciting era by giving the team a more striking emblem. It's also, you know, the jersey they won the Stanley Cup in. But more on that design shift later.
3. Era 1 (1993-94)
Era 1 jerseys.
Courtesy of Andrew Greenstein/nhluniforms.com
Granted, this placement might be partially due to our nostalgia for the Stars' inaugural season in Dallas, in which they debuted after moving into Reunion Arena (R.I.P.) from Minnesota, where they were known as the "Minnesota North Stars." Although these jerseys aren’t vastly different from the era of uniforms that immediately followed them, the early use of a brighter shade of green feels like a symbol of exciting times. This design choice is particularly notable because the Stars' uniforms wouldn't stray much from a deeper green until 20 years later for the team's present-day era. It was a hell of a debut, too, as the team advanced to the conference semi-finals in year one, truly marking a new era — in every sense — for Dallas sports.
2. Era 5 (2013-present)
Era 5 jerseys.
Courtesy of Andrew Greenstein/nhluniforms.com
Judging from the timeline of redesigns between eras, it seems like the current slate of Stars jerseys might soon be on its way out for new threads. Are we wrong for hoping these still have more shelf life, though? Arguably the most dramatic redesign in the club’s history, we’re pretty high on the heavy dose of "victory green" and the introduction of the big "D" in the center of the logo. This era feels like it was given a design that was intentional, one that captures the core of Dallas' essence — big, bold, and unapologetically ostentacious. We're also fans of the nod to our city's iconic skyline with the introduction of neon green for the alternate uniform featuring the big "D" embedded in the center of the shape of Texas. We are the only city in this state with an NHL team, after all, and we'll take every chance we can get to remind the rest of Texas (Hi, Houston!) of that fact. Of course, it also helps that the team is currently on a hat-trick run of conference finals appearances with these uniforms.
1. Era 3 (1999-2007)
Era 3 jerseys.
We know what you're thinking: "The Mooterus era?" But with that ... dubious design choice slapped aside, we actually really enjoy the primary jerseys of this period in the Stars' aesthetics. What can we say, we’re a sucker for the artfully-deisgned big star that shoots up to the shoulders, one that we only got a glimpse of in the tail-end of Era 2. And how could we diminish the team's Stanley Cup-winning look? Even with trophies aside, though, these uniforms rightfully leaned into their best apparel. The dominance of green that would become synonymous with the iconography of a Stars jersey finally took center stage here. And if you’ve been around Dallas long enough, you know that a vintage, conspicuous jersey like this is a staple of the city's streetwear. When your team name doubles as an easily recognizable and favorable symbol, why wouldn’t you go all in on it like this? No brainer.
You can see the Stars' full 2025 NHL playoffs schedule here.