To know Dallas as a city is to know, at least something, about Mike Modano.
He is the all-time points leader for American-born players; ditto for goals; ditto for playoff points and playoff goals.
But more important for our purposes, he has been the face of the franchise since the team dropped the “North” and headed south from Minnesota to become the Dallas Stars. (It is certainly arguable that Brendan Morrow has usurped this title in the past couple of seasons, but he has yet to hold it with the authority that Modano did for some 15 years.)
That’s why this next sentence might be alarming to some: There is a pretty good chance that Modano will not be on the ice in Dallas, or anywhere else, next year.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
Modano is 38 years-old, and he’ll be 39 by the time Dallas opens camp next year. This wouldn’t be alarming at all, except for the fact that he struggled with an unprecedented (for him, anyway) consistency this season, precipitating heavy criticism from head coach Dave Tippett.
When he skated the ice at American Airlines Center on Saturday night, applauding fans, the thought of a Modano-less Dallas Stars team, for the first time ever, seemed to be closer than ever to a reality.
"I'm too aggravated to make a rational decision on that right now," Modano said after the overtime win. "A good month on the beach, I'll figure it out."
Modano garnered criticism from coaches and analysts for his struggles of late, leaving a void in practical veteran leadership on the ice for a young and banged up team. His last goal came on March 3, at San Jose, and he has yet to score a goal at the AAC in 2009.
But late-season struggles aside, it’s a bit staggering to imagine the Stars without Modano. Drafted by the Minnesota North Stars 21 years ago (as an 18 year-old) he is the franchise leader in just about every statistical category worth looking at (goals, points, games played… the list goes on).
And while Modano might be (actually he definitely is) in the winter of his career, I’d hate to see him exit on the miserable futility that characterized 2008-2009. So here’s hoping his time at the beach is just what he needs to give us another year or two.
Because the curtain will close soon enough on Modano’s career; it’s just hard (and vaguely loathsome) to believe that 2008-2009 will be his last act.
Copyright FREEL - NBC Local Media
