a western road trip that saw them visit the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks. Going into the road trip, the Stars were in control of their own destiny, having to gain four points on the road trip to win their first Pacific Division title since the 2005–06 season. After the Stars lost 5–4 in Calgary to the Flames, the Stars beat the Oilers two nights later, 3–1. This would be their last win of the season, as the Stars were rolled over by the Canucks and Sharks. Even though they had lost the division crown, the Stars still had a chance to clinch a playoff spot. However, the Stars were eliminated from playoff contention on April 5 in a 2–0 loss to the playoff-bound Nashville Predators. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year, setting a franchise record for futility. On July 1, 2012, the team signed free agent veterans Ray Whitney, Aaron Rome and Jaromir Jagr. The next day, the Stars traded fan-favorite Steve Ott and Adam Pardy to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for center Derek Roy. When 2012–13 NHL lockout ended, the Stars began an up-and-down season, although staying in the race for one of the eight playoff spots in the shortened season, which had only 48 games. In mid-season, forward Michael Ryder was traded to his former team, the Montreal Canadiens, for Erik Cole. This shocked many Stars fans, as Ryder was a fan-favorite to Stars fans and had been producing good stats for the Stars throughout the shortened season. Before the trade deadline in early April, the Stars began to falter, and the team's captain, Brenden Morrow, was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins; Roy was traded to the Vancouver Canucks; Jagr to the Boston Bruins; and Tomas Vincour to the Colorado Avalanche to close out the NHL trade deadline, all in exchange for draft picks and prospects. After all of the trades at the trade deadline, many counted the Stars out, as it seemed they were beginning to rebuild and throw in the towel during the season. However, the Stars' remaining young players pulled together to win six of their next eight games, thus propelling the Stars back into the 2013 playoff race. The Stars soon became the new Cinderella team and were getting better as their newfound success went on. However, the Stars dropped