Dallas Stars Planning 1940s Texans Throwback?

We might be going back in time to celebrate the history of hockey deep in the heart of Texas.

DSE Hockey Club, the corporate name of the National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars, recently trademarked the original logo of the old Dallas Texans, a pro hockey team who played in various leagues starting in the 1940s.

Here’s a look at the trademark filing:

The filing says the team is planning on using the logo on “clothing, namely hockey jerseys, t-shirts, and hats”. Nothing suggested to us that the Stars were set to introduce a new alternate jersey or even just a one-time throwback jersey during the upcoming 2016-17 season, so there’s a few possibilities here…

1. They decided to introduce an alternate or wear a throwback for next season at the last minute and it wasn’t documented anywhere that our sources could see.

2. They’re planning on introducing something for 2017-18, the first year of the Adidas uniform deal, and they’re just getting set early.

3. This is purely for retail-only, just a way to have their fans wear some Texas hockey history while at their games.

My gut says it’s either #2 or 3, probably learning more towards #3 for now with something on-ice maybe in the future if it proves popular. We’ll keep you updated if we hear anything new.

The Dallas Texans began in the American Hockey Association in the 1941-42 season, they shifted over to the USHL for 1942-43 where they played until 1948-49. The name was also used for Dallas’ entry in the American Football League, that team still exists today as the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, which may be why the trademark filing here doesn’t actually say “DALLAS TEXANS” anywhere, just “D TEXANS”.

Embracing local hockey history would help Texans have something to celebrate that’s their own rather than that of a team which played in Minnesota for the first half of its existence.