TheMinnesota North Stars were an American professionalice hockey team based inBloomington, Minnesota, a city in theU.S. metropolitan statistical area ofMinneapolis–Saint Paul.^[1] The team joined theNHL in 1967 as anexpansion team with five other teams;^[2] theCleveland Barons, another 1967 NHL expansion team, were merged with the North Stars in the1978–79 season.^[3] The North Stars played in theStanley Cup Finals twice: as thePrince of Wales Conference champions in the1980–81 season,^[4] and in the1990–91 season after winning theClarence S. Campbell Bowl,^[5] but lost in both Finals.^[6] The North Stars played their home games at theMet Center.^[7] The team relocated toDallas, Texas in 1993, after former ownerNorman Green announced that he was moving the team to Dallas'sReunion Arena in search of a better economic situation,^[8] and are now known as theDallas Stars.^[9] The North Stars played in theNorris Division of theClarence Campbell Conference in theNational Hockey League (NHL) intheir last season.^[10] There were 16head coaches for the North Stars team.^[11]

The North Stars' first head coach andgeneral manager wasWren Blair, who coached for the first three seasons, and was theNorth Stars' general manager until 1974;Jack Gordon,Lou Nanne, andBob Gainey were also the general manager of the North Stars during their tenures as head coach.^[12] Nine of the first twelve North Stars head coaches lasted less than two complete seasons, while ten of the first twelve head coaches have spent their entire NHL head coaching careers with the North Stars. Gordon was the first North Stars head coach to have coached more than two complete seasons, with four.^[11]

Several head coaches have had multiple tenures with the North Stars.Glen Sonmor served three terms as North Stars head coach. He is the North Stars' all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached, regular-season game wins, regular-seasonpoints, playoff games coached, and playoff-game wins. Sonmor's first term lasted five seasons, the longest duration for one North Stars head coach term; his last term lasted two games, which was the shortest tenure.^[11] Blair, Gordon andCharlie Burns each served two terms as the North Stars' head coach.^[12] None of their second terms were winning seasons.^[11]

Burns,Ted Harris,Parker MacDonald, Nanne, andMurray Oliver had onceplayed for the North Stars;^[13] Burns is the only person to have been aplayer-coach for the North Stars, having done so in the1969–70 season.^[14]1980 U.S. Olympic "Miracle on Ice" coachHerb Brooks, who coached the North Stars in the1987–88 season, is the only North Stars head coach to have been elected to theHockey Hall of Fame as abuilder;^[15]Harry Howell and Gainey were inducted asplayers.^[16][17] Sonmor and Gainey are the only head coaches to reach the Stanley Cup Finals with the North Stars, in the1981 and1991 Finals respectively.^[6] Gainey was the last head coach of the North Stars; he coached the franchise until the1995–96 season.^[11]

• "Dallas Stars Coach Register".Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC.Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. RetrievedAugust 31, 2009.
• Showers, Bob (2007).Minnesota North Stars: History and Memories with Lou Nanne. Beaver's Pond Press.ISBN 978-1-59298-197-7.
• "2008-2009 Media Guide"(PDF).National Hockey League and theDallas Stars.Archived(PDF) from the original on December 21, 2008. RetrievedSeptember 5, 2009.

• National Hockey League coaches by team
• Lists of ice hockey coaches
• Minnesota North Stars lists

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Featured lists
• Articles with hCards