Miro Heiskanen, Mike Modano highlight Stars’ NHL quarter-century team

The NHL unveiled its latest quarter-century team Thursday, recognizing the top players who have suited up for the Dallas Stars over the past 25 years.

Headlining the first team includes forwards Jamie Benn, Jere Lehtinen, and Mike Modano, defensemen Miro Heiskanen and Sergei Zubov, and goaltender Marty Turco.

The current captain of the Stars, Benn has spent his entire 16-year career in Dallas dating back to his fifth-round selection in the 2007 NHL Draft. In all, Benn leads the franchise with 1,155 games played and sits second in all-time scoring with 937 points. In 2014-15, Benn took home the Art Ross Trophy after pacing the NHL with 87 points.

A defensive stalwart, Lehtinen was a three-time Selke Trophy winner over his time with the Stars, a career that counted 875 total appearances in which he has amassed 243 goals with 271 assists for 514 points. A 1992 fourth-round selection by the former Minnesota North Stars, Lehtinen raised the Stanley Cup in Dallas in 1999.

The franchise’s all-time leader in every major offensive categories including goals (434), assists (616), and points (1,050), Modano also captained the Stars for two seasons and, in the 1999 postseason, put up 23 points in as many games to help the franchise capture its first-ever Stanley Cup championship.

Skating in his seventh season with the Stars, Heiskanen has proven to be a dynamic all-situations rearguard who through 468 career contests has collected 58 goals with 220 assists for 278 points, highlighted by the 2022-23 campaign when he approached point-per-game production in amassing 11 goals and 62 assists in 79 outings. En route to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, Heiskanen led the Stars with 26 points in 27 games.

The Stars’ all-time leading scorer among defensemen, Zubov spent the final 12 years of his NHL career in Dallas that saw him tally 549 points counting 111 goals and 438 assists through 839 outings. En route to the 1999 Stanley Cup championship, Zubov put up 13 points in 23 postseason appearances.

The winningest goaltender in franchise history, Turco spent the first nine years of his career in Texas, where through a team-leading 509 games he found the win column 262 times. With the Stars, Turco twice led the NHL in save percentage, doing so in 2000-01 (.925 in 26 games) and 2002-03 (.932 in 55 games).

The Stars’ second team is represented by forwards Brenden Morrow, Joe Pavelski, and Tyler Seguin, defensemen John Klingberg and Esa Lindell, and goaltender Ed Belfour.

Captaining the Stars for seven seasons, Morrow spent part of 13 seasons in Dallas in which he totaled 835 games, the fifth-most in franchise history. Along the way, the Saskatchewan native recorded 243 goals with 285 assists for 528 points. Morrow also added 46 points through 118 postseason appearances.

Spending the final five seasons of his career in Dallas, Pavelski saw 369 showings in which he collected 121 goals and 186 assists for 307 points. In the 2020 postseason, Pavelski led all Stars forwards with 19 points in 27 games to guide the club to the Stanley Cup Final.

Having skated all but three seasons of his 15-year NHL career with the Stars, Seguin sits third all-time in franchise scoring with 687 points counting 304 goals and 383 assists in 785 contests. A consistent offensive presence, Seguin exceeded the 70-point plateau for six consecutive seasons from 2013-19.

Originally chosen by Dallas in the fifth round of the 2010 NHL Draft, Klingberg spent eight seasons with the Stars from 2014-22. A gifted offensive defenseman, Klingberg amassed 71 goals and 303 assists for 374 points during his time with Dallas to sit second in scoring among rearguards, behind only Zubov.

A steady defensive rearguard, Lindell is currently competing in his 10th season in Dallas after being selected by the Stars in the third round of the 2012 NHL Draft. In all, Lindell has made 647 appearances in which he has collected 205 points alongside a career plus-117 rating.

Between the pipes, Belfour led the Stars to back-to-back appearances in the Stanley Cup Final in 1999 and 2000, ultimately hoisting Lord Stanley in the former year. That spring, Belfour posted a .930 save percentage with a 1.67 goals-against average, while today he remains the franchise’s all-time winningest goaltender in the postseason with 44 victories.