Falling Stars - What If The Stars Didn't Win The Cup?

Revelation 6:13: "And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind."

For a lot of fans, and one might suspect, the Stars organization itself, one of the main things keeping up our morale in these miserable times are our memories of the time when the Dallas Stars were the biggest, baddest, and best team in professional hockey. They conquered the Avalanche twice in a row, won two President's Trophies, and finally obtained Lord Stanley's Cup in 1999.

But what if the last, and greatest of these accomplishments didn't occur? How would this affect the team, as we know it today?

Let's take a trip back into the past.

The Dallas Stars have finally prevailed in a grueling seven-game match with the Colorado Avalanche. Their season has known nought but triumph, and there is now only one last thing between the Stars and their first Cup; the Buffalo Sabres, champions of the Eastern Conference. The Sabres have been led this far by the seemingly indefatigable Dominik Hasek, erstwhile backup to Ed Belfour.

Pundits, probably for the first time in history, jump on the bandwagon and eagerly proclaim Stars victory. The primary focus in the media is on the duel between Belfour and Hasek -- since the Stars are, after all, 'better in every other way'.

However, the series starts off on an unexpected and ominous note, when Belfour, prior to the first game, begins to complain of a bad cold. Ken Hitchcock decides to start his elite goaltender anyway, reasoning that Eddie's skills and the team's abilities will allow them to keep winning, illness or no.

Ed decides to take some prescribed cold medicine to help him play through the game, but unfortunately, they seem to have the opposite effect, as the Eagle's dulled reflexes allow five goals in the first two periods. Backup goaltender Roman Turek comes in for the third period, but is unable to prevent the eventual 6-3 Buffalo victory.

The series goes by in a blur. The Stars lose game 5, 2-3, in the second overtime after a Brett Hull goal was deemed invalid, due to having his foot in the crease. Game 6 is a hard-won victory for Dallas; after Derian Hatcher scores the game's only goal in the first, the team barely managed to hold on for a 1-0 win in regulation.

In game 7, the Stars are stonewalled by Dominik Hasek, and finally, after three overtime periods, Stu Barnes takes advantage of a rare rebound to score, and so in 1999, the Buffalo Sabres win the Stanley Cup.

Afterwards, the Stars gloomily return to Dallas. The charter flight home is quiet. When they land, the team splits up; the players go home. There's nothing left to say, no fans to greet, no need to stick around. There won't be any parades or rallies this year, because there's nothing to celebrate. The Clarence S. Campbell Bowl sits alone and forgotten in its place in the empty Reunion Arena.

The Stars try to come back in the next season, but it somehow never comes about; although Eddie isn't sick, and is agreed to be the best goalie of the year, the Stars just don't have the offensive punch to win when it counts. While they make a second trip to the Finals, they still end up losing, in seven games, to the New Jersey Devils, and the seasons after are no better. As management tries to put the "last pieces together" of a team that seems no longer destined for glory, one season after another slips by. As of 2009-2010, the Stars still haven't won a Cup, although new management in the form of former Star Joe Nieuwendyk manages to alleviate some concerns, when he announces his intention to rebuild the team.

In the end, though, Texans love to win. The Dallas Stars, when they stopped doing this, failed to impress anyone, and in a non-traditional hockey market, that can make all the difference. Tom Hicks' financial issues, combined with mediocre attendance at the American Airlines, have led to speculation that selling the team and relocating somewhere, maybe up to Canada, where there are plenty of fans, would be the best thing for the team. Bitter Minnesota fans take glee in the Stars' difficulties, and the franchise in general is a league laughingstock.

Thankfully, all of these melancholy events are in my fantasy world, made out of text, not real mens' achievements and troubles. But how do you, the readers, think things might have happened, in an alternate timeline...where the Stars lost the Cup? What would the franchise be like today?

Comments are accepted and desired.