Editing Dallas Stars (section)

====2013–2020: Return to playoff contention and third appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals====
The day after their final regular season game of the 2012–13 season (a 3–0 loss to the [[Detroit Red Wings]]), the Stars fired general manager Joe Nieuwendyk. The next day, the Stars introduced their 11th all-time general manager, [[Jim Nill]], the former assistant general manager of the Red Wings. On May 14, 2013, the coaching staff was also fired,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nhl.com/stars/news/dallas-stars-relieve-glen-gulutzan-and-paul-jerrard-of-coaching-duties/c-670677 | title=Dallas Stars relieve Glen Gulutzan and Paul Jerrard of coaching duties | access-date=August 24, 2022 | archive-date=August 24, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824153110/https://www.nhl.com/stars/news/dallas-stars-relieve-glen-gulutzan-and-paul-jerrard-of-coaching-duties/c-670677 | url-status=live}}</ref> and on May 31, 2013, [[Scott White (ice hockey)|Scott White]] was re-introduced as the director of hockey operations.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.defendingbigd.com/2013/5/31/4384508/dallas-stars-jim-nill-announces-scott-white-director-of-hockey-operations | title=Stars Announce Scott White Director of Hockey Ops | date=May 31, 2013 | access-date=August 24, 2022 | archive-date=March 29, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329063848/https://www.defendingbigd.com/2013/5/31/4384508/dallas-stars-jim-nill-announces-scott-white-director-of-hockey-operations | url-status=live}}</ref> The Stars hired [[Lindy Ruff]] as their new head coach on June 21, 2013.<ref>[http://stars.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=674757 Dallas Stars hire Lindy Ruff as 22nd Head Coach in franchise history]</ref> Nill made his first big trade as general manager when he acquired the former second overall draft pick from the [[2010 NHL entry draft]] in [[Tyler Seguin]], as well as [[Rich Peverley]] and [[Ryan Button]] from the [[Boston Bruins]] in exchange for [[Loui Eriksson]], [[Reilly Smith]], [[Matt Fraser]] and [[Joe Morrow]]. During the 2013 off-season, the league underwent a major realignment. Dallas' returned to a revamped [[Central Division (NHL)|Central Division]], bringing them a much more broadcast-friendly schedule for divisional away games. The Stars had long lobbied for this, as they were unhappy with the large number of games they had to play on the road in the [[Pacific Time Zone]] as a member of the Pacific Division since the 1998–99 season. Under new head coach [[Lindy Ruff]] and led by 84-point and 79-point campaigns from Seguin and newly minted captain [[Jamie Benn]] respectively,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/DAL/2014.html|title=2013–14 Dallas Stars Roster and Statistics|website=hockey-reference.com|date=June 6, 2023|access-date=June 6, 2023}}</ref> the Stars narrowly made it to the [[2014 Stanley Cup playoffs|2014 playoffs]], returning to the Playoffs for the first time since 2008 with a successful 40–31–11 record, finishing with 91 points, fifth in the Central Division and eighth in the Western Conference during the [[2013–14 NHL season|2013–14 season]]. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the top-seeded [[Anaheim Ducks]] in six games with a 5–4 overtime loss in game 6.

[[File:Jamie Benn 1.jpg|thumb|Leading the league in points, Stars' captain Jamie Benn pictured in October 2014. He won the [[Art Ross Trophy]] for the [[2014–15 NHL season|2014–15 season]]. Benn was also named captain of the Stars prior to the [[2013–14 NHL season|2013–14 season]].]]
Nill made another big trade as general manager when he acquired [[Jason Spezza]] and [[Ludwig Karlsson]] from the [[Ottawa Senators]] in exchange for [[Alex Chiasson]], [[Nick Paul]], Alex Guptill and a second-round pick in the [[2015 NHL entry draft]]. He also signed Senators player [[Aleš Hemský|Ales Hemsky]] as a free agent on a three-year, $12&nbsp;million contract on July 1, 2014. Despite these moves and a 92-point 41–31–10 campaign, the Stars finished with the second-lowest goaltender save percentage in the league during the [[2014–15 NHL season|2014–15 season]], which resulted in them failing to qualify for the [[2015 Stanley Cup playoffs|2015 playoffs]] due to their sixth-place finish in the Central Division and being seven points behind of the last playoff spot. The lone bright spot of the 2014–15 season was captain Jamie Benn winning the [[Art Ross Trophy]]. On April 11, 2015, Benn scored four points in the Stars' last regular season game to finish with 87 points on the season and win the Art Ross Trophy. His final point, a secondary assist with 8.5 seconds left in regulation in the game, allowed him to overtake [[New York Islanders]] centre and captain [[John Tavares]] for the award by one point.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/jamie-benn-records-assist-with-9-seconds-to-play-to-win-art-ross-trophy/|title=Jamie Benn records assist with 9 seconds to play to win Art Ross Trophy|access-date=March 22, 2017|archive-date=March 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323054723/http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/news/jamie-benn-records-assist-with-9-seconds-to-play-to-win-art-ross-trophy/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 2015 off-season the Stars made a couple additions to the team, first trading with the [[Chicago Blackhawks]] for three-time Stanley Cup champion [[Patrick Sharp]] as well as defenseman [[Stephen Johns (ice hockey)|Stephen Johns]] in exchange for [[Trevor Daley]] and [[Ryan Garbutt]].<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/7/71/762613/blackhawks-trade-patrick-sharp-dallas-stars|title = Blackhawks trade Patrick Sharp to Dallas Stars|last = Lazerus|first = Mark|date = July 10, 2015|work = Chicago Sun Times|access-date = July 10, 2015|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150712011418/http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/7/71/762613/blackhawks-trade-patrick-sharp-dallas-stars|archive-date = July 12, 2015}}</ref> The Stars also signed via free agency Sharp's teammate from the Blackhawks [[Johnny Oduya]] to a two-year contract.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://stars.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=774832 | title = Dallas Stars sign defenseman Johnny Oduya to a two-year contract | publisher = Dallas Stars | date = July 15, 2015 | access-date = July 15, 2015}}</ref> In the [[2015–16 NHL season|2015–16 season]], the Stars won their first Central Division title since 1998 and posted the best regular season record in the Western Conference with a 50–23–9 record good enough for 109 points and the runner up to the [[Presidents' Trophy]] as the regular season champions, only behind the [[Washington Capitals]]. In the first round of the 2016 playoffs, they defeated the [[Minnesota Wild]] in six games. In the second round, they faced the [[St. Louis Blues]] in the playoffs for the first time since 2001, but lost the series in seven games.

The Stars finished with a 34–37–11 record in an injury-plagued [[2016–17 NHL season|2016–17 season]], missing the playoffs for the seventh time in the past nine seasons, missing the 2017 playoffs by 15 points. As a result, the team announced that head coach Lindy Ruff's contract would not be renewed.

In the 2017 off-season the Stars lost goaltender [[Antti Niemi (ice hockey)|Antti Niemi]] and forward Patrick Sharp in free agency.

[[Ken Hitchcock]] returned as head coach for the [[2017–18 NHL season|2017–18 season]], however once again the Stars missed the playoffs, this time narrowly missing having only missed by just three points in the standings after posting a winning record of 42–32–8 in the season.

Hitchcock retired after the season and was succeeded at the head coaching spot by [[Jim Montgomery (ice hockey)|Jim Montgomery]]. Montgomery's first season as the Stars coach saw the team finish with a 43–32–7 record, good enough to return to the [[2019 NHL playoffs|playoffs]] for the first time since 2016 as the first wild card team and seventh seed in the Western Conference. The Stars defeated the Central Division-champion and second-seeded Nashville Predators in a six-game series the first round, but fell to the sixth-seeded and eventual Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues in seven games, losing game 7 on the road in double-overtime by a score of 2–1 despite a 52-save performance by starting goaltender [[Ben Bishop]].

Going into the [[2019–20 NHL season|2019–20 season]], the Stars added veteran forwards [[Joe Pavelski]] from the San Jose Sharks and [[Corey Perry]] of the Anaheim Ducks in free agency on July 1, 2019. To start the 2019–20 season, the Stars sputtered to a 1–7–1 start through their first nine games. However the Stars soon rallied and rattled off a 14–1–1 record between October 19 and November 25, which catapulted the Stars to an eventual season record of 37–24–8 through 69 games, as the regular season was suspended in March 2020 due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. Barely two full months into his second season as Stars head coach, on December 10, the Stars fired head coach Jim Montgomery for "unprofessional conduct inconsistent with the core values and beliefs of the Dallas Stars and the National Hockey League."<ref>{{cite web |title=Jim Montgomery dismissed as head coach of Stars |url=https://www.nhl.com/stars/news/jim-montgomery-dismissed-as-head-coach-of-dallas-stars/c-312388186 |website=NHL.com |access-date=December 11, 2019 |date=December 10, 2019}}</ref> General manager Jim Nill said the situation had come to light the previous weekend, and involved "a material act of unprofessionalism" egregious enough to demand Montgomery's immediate firing. He did not offer specifics "out of respect for everyone involved," only saying that it did not involve abuse of players or criminal conduct.<ref>{{cite web |last1=DeFranks |first1=Matthew |title=Dallas Stars fire coach Jim Montgomery 'due to unprofessional conduct' |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/stars/2019/12/10/dallas-stars-fire-coach-jim-montgomery-due-to-unprofessional-conduct/ |website=Dallas News |access-date=December 11, 2019 |date=December 10, 2019}}</ref> [[Rick Bowness]], who joined the team as an assistant coach a month after Montgomery's hiring in May 2018, was named interim coach, while [[Derek Laxdal]] (who was the head coach of the Stars' AHL affiliate [[Texas Stars]] at the time) would be promoted to the assistant coaching position that was vacated by Bowness.<ref name="cbc2019">{{cite web |title=Dallas Stars fire head coach Jim Montgomery for 'unprofessional conduct' |url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/jim-montgomery-fired-dallas-stars-nhl-1.5390679 |website=CBC.ca |access-date=December 11, 2019}}</ref> On January 1, 2020, the Stars hosted the Nashville Predators in the [[2020 NHL Winter Classic|2020 Winter Classic]] at the [[Cotton Bowl (stadium)|Cotton Bowl]] in a rematch of the previous seasons' first-round playoff series, where the Stars prevailed with a 4–2 victory. This was the first NHL outdoor game for both teams<ref name="ESPN_Kaplan">{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/25852611/nashville-predators-face-dallas-stars-2020-winter-classic|title=Nashville Predators to face Dallas Stars in 2020 Winter Classic|first=Emily|last=Kaplan|publisher=[[ESPN]]|date=January 25, 2019 |access-date= January 25, 2019}}</ref> and with a sold-out crowd of 85,630 at the Cotton Bowl, it was the second-most attended game in NHL history.<ref name="SN_Recap">{{cite news | url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/stars-rally-beat-predators-winter-classic-cotton-bowl/|title=Stars rally to beat Predators in Winter Classic at Cotton Bowl|agency=Associated Press|publisher=Sportsnet|date=January 1, 2020}}</ref> The NHL returned from the March 2020 abrupt regular season stoppage three weeks before completion due to the COVID-19 pandemic a little under five months later in August 2020, where the Stars advanced to the [[2020 NHL playoffs|playoffs]]. By virtue of having one of the top four highest point percentages in the Western Conference at the time the season was suspended, the Stars played in a [[round-robin tournament]] against three of the other top four teams in the Western Conference ([[Vegas Golden Knights]], [[Colorado Avalanche]], and St. Louis Blues) in order to determine the team's seed for the playoffs;<ref>{{cite web |title=Stanley Cup Qualifiers schedule |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-round-robin-best-of-5-series-dates-times/c-317365910 |website=NHL.com |access-date=July 10, 2020 |date=September 29, 2020}}</ref> Dallas was ultimately seeded as the no. 3 seed in the Western Conference,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sadowski |first1=Rick |title=Stars defeat Blues in round-robin, decide No. 3 seed in West |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/dallas-stars-st-louis-blues-game-recap/c-317515640 |website=NHL.com |accessdate=September 6, 2020 |date=August 9, 2020}}</ref> entering them into a first-round series against the [[Calgary Flames]]. The Stars defeated the Flames in six games in the first round, and then defeated the Colorado Avalanche in a seven-game series that ended with a [[Joel Kiviranta]] hat-trick performance in game 7, which included his series-winning overtime goal. The Stars would defeat the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in the conference finals to advance to the [[2020 Stanley Cup Finals|Stanley Cup Finals]] for the first time since [[2000 Stanley Cup Finals|2000]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/stars/2020/09/14/stars-defeat-golden-knights-in-ot-advance-to-stanley-cup-final-for-first-time-in-20-years/|title=Stars defeat Golden Knights in OT, advance to Stanley Cup Final for first time in 20 years|last=DeFranks|first=Matthews|work=[[The Dallas Morning News]]|date=September 15, 2020|access-date=September 15, 2020|archive-date=September 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915154235/https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/stars/2020/09/14/stars-defeat-golden-knights-in-ot-advance-to-stanley-cup-final-for-first-time-in-20-years/|url-status=live}}</ref> as the Stars would end a second consecutive series of the playoffs with a series-winning overtime goal when [[Denis Gurianov]] scored 3:36 into the first overtime period of game 5, winning the game 3–2 for the Stars. The Stars would go on to face the Eastern Conference champion [[Tampa Bay Lightning]] in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Stars won game 1 of the series by a 4–1 score, but would eventually fall to the Lightning in six games.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/tampa-bay-lightning-dallas-stars-game-6-recap/c-319086198|title=Lightning win Stanley Cup, defeat Stars in Game 6 of Final|last=Rosen|first=Dan|publisher=NHL Enterprises, L. P.|date=September 28, 2020|website=NHL.com|access-date=September 28, 2020}}</ref>