The regular season was reduced from its usual 82 games to 48 due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout.
During the off-season, the Stars acquired veteran and Pittsburgh Penguins legend Jaromir Jagr after returning to the NHL and playing last season for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Due to the lockout, Jagr played only four months as a Star and would be traded to the Boston Bruins, where he would appear in his first Stanley Cup Finals trip since 1992.
The Stars failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the fifth-straight season.
Dallas Stars' picks at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on June 22 & 23, 2012.