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The Minnesota North Stars were founded as an expansion team in [[1967-68 NHL season|1967]], playing their games adjacent to [[Metropolitan Stadium]] at the newly-constructed Metropolitan Sports Center (the "[[Met Center]]") in [[Bloomington, Minnesota]]. Initially successful both on the ice and at the gate, the North Stars fell victim to financial problems after several poor seasons in the mid-[[1970s]].
In [[1978-79 NHL season|1978]], they were purchased by the owners of the also- struggling [[Cleveland Barons (NHL)|Cleveland Barons]] (formerly the [[California Golden Seals]]), the influential Gund brothers, George III and Gordon, and the NHL permitted the two franchises to merge. The merged team retained the name Minnesota North Stars, but assumed the Barons’ old place in the [[Adams Division]]. The merger brought with it a number of talented players, and the North Stars were revived, making the [[Stanley Cup]] Finals in [[1980-81 NHL season|1981]], but they lost in five games to the [[New York Islanders]]. However, by the early 1990s, declining attendance and the inability to secure a new downtown revenue-generating arena led ownership to request permission to move the team to the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] in 1990. The NHL rejected the request, and instead agreed to award an [[expansion team|expansion franchise]], the [[San Jose Sharks]], to the Gund brothers. The North Stars were sold to a group of investors that were originally looking to place a team in San Jose, although one of the group's members, [[Norman Green]], would eventually gain control of the team.<ref>{{cite book|last=Cameron|first=Steve|title=Feeding Frenzy! The Wild New World of the San Jose Sharks|pages=29-38|year=1994|publisher=Taylor Publishing Co.}}</ref> In the following season, [[Minnesota]] made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, only to lose to the [[Pittsburgh Penguins]].
===1993: Relocation to Dallas===
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