On this day in 1997, the Dallas Stars made one of the most impactful goaltender signings in franchise history, inking Ed Belfour to a three-year, $10 million contract. 

The move brought one of the most competitive and talented netminders of his generation to Dallas, and the ripple effects of that signing would be felt all the way to a Stanley Cup two years later.

Belfour arrived in Dallas with an already decorated resume as the Carman, Manitoba native had spent the previous seven seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, where he established himself as one of the premier goaltenders in the league. 

He won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in 1991, captured back-to-back Vezina Trophies as the league's best goaltender in 1991 and 1993, and added a pair of Jennings Trophies along the way. He also backstopped the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup Final in 1992. By the time he arrived in Dallas, Belfour was a proven winner with a burning desire to finally get his name on the Cup.

His time in Dallas would become the defining chapter of his career. In his very first season with the Stars, Belfour posted a 1.88 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage, numbers that were among the best in the entire league and immediately validated the organization's decision to make him the cornerstone of their goaltending. 

The Stars finished that 1997-98 season with the second-best record in the Western Conference and established themselves as a genuine championship contender. The following season, everything came together with Belfour as the backbone of a Stars team that won the Presidents' Trophy with the best record in hockey and then navigated one of the most gruelling playoff runs of the era. 

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He was simply spectacular throughout the 1999 postseason, posting a 1.67 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage across 23 games, numbers that rank among the finest goaltending performances in Stanley Cup Playoff history. 

When Brett Hull's controversial but ultimately legal skate-in-the-crease goal found the back of the net in triple overtime of Game 6 against the Buffalo Sabres, it was Belfour who had kept Dallas in position to win the series. The Stars were Stanley Cup champions, and Belfour had delivered on every expectation placed on him when he signed that deal two years earlier.

After leaving Dallas, Belfour spent time with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers before retiring. He finished his NHL career with 484 wins, a 2.50 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage across 963 games, numbers that made him one of the most accomplished goaltenders of his generation. 

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2011, a fitting recognition of a career that spanned two decades and left a legacy in every city he played in, none more so than Dallas, where he helped deliver the only Stanley Cup in franchise history.

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