Michael Thomas Modano, Jr.
(born June 7, 1970 in Livonia
, Michigan
) is an
American
professional
ice hockey player and alternate captain for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL).
He is the all-time goal-scoring and points leader amongst
American-born players in the NHL, and the only player left on the
Stars roster that played for the franchise's previous incarnation,
the
Minnesota North Stars.He
is generally regarded as one of the best American-born NHL players
to ever play.
Playing career
The North Stars selected Modano as the first overall draft pick in
the
1988 NHL Entry Draft at the
age of 18, an honor shared by only five other Americans:
Brian Lawton (1983),
Bryan Berard (1995),
Rick DiPietro (2000),
Erik Johnson (2006), and
Patrick Kane (2007). Modano scored his first
career NHL goal against
Glenn Healy of
the
New York Islanders.
Modano won the
Stanley Cup in
1999 with the Stars, putting
together consecutive seasons of over twenty playoff points in 1999
and 2000. He has also played in the 1991 and 2000 Stanley Cup
Finals. Modano has also been a finalist for the
Calder Memorial Trophy (1990), the
Frank J. Selke Trophy (2001), and the
Lady Byng Trophy (2003). He controversially
lost the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the year's best rookie,
to 31-year-old
Sergei Makarov, who
had already played professionally for the
Russian Super League for over 12 years;
because of this, the NHL imposed an age barrier for Calder
candidates the following year. Modano's best statistical seasons
were in
1992–93 and
1993–94, as he scored
93 points in each of those seasons. During the latter campaign, the
franchise's first in Dallas, Modano recorded a personal-best 50
goals. His career high for points in a game is six (2–4–6) against
the
Anaheim Ducks. Modano has seven
career hat tricks. Modano's only career fight was against
Rod Brind'Amour. The long-time face of the
Dallas franchise, he has recorded over 1,000 NHL points and became
the captain of the Stars in 2003. During the 2005 offseason, Modano
contemplated signing with the
Boston
Bruins, but decided to stay with the Stars after owner
Tom Hicks got involved.
On August 5, 2005, Modano signed a five-year contract extension
with Dallas. On September 29, 2006,
Brenden Morrow replaced him as the Stares'
captain; Modano is now an
alternate captain, a role in which he had previously served from
1995 to 2004.
On January 21, 2007, the NHL announced Modano as the Special
Ambassador to the 2007 NHL All-Star Celebration, thanks to his
numerous contributions towards bringing the
55th National Hockey
League All-Star Game to Dallas and also for his contributions
to Dallas hockey as a whole. Modano, the Stars' all-time leader in
several statistical categories and a member of the franchise for
the entirety of his 17-year career, appeared at selected All-Star
events and dropped the puck in a ceremonial face-off prior the game
on January 24, 2007.
Modano scored his 500th career regular-season goal on March 13,
2007 with 10:24 left in the 3rd period in a regulation win against
Antero Niittymäki of the
Philadelphia Flyers with assists
by
Antti Miettinen and
Jon Klemm. He is only the 14th goal scorer to
score 500 goals with a single team and the 39th player to reach 500
goals overall.

Modano's shorthanded, record breaking
goal, 2007-11-07.
On March 17, 2007, in an away game versus the
Nashville Predators, Modano scored his
502nd and 503rd career regular-season goals in a 3–2 loss, thus
passing
Joe Mullen's NHL record (502) for
most goals scored by an American-born player. The Predators
organization drew criticism from around the league after failing to
mention the breaking of this record.
Modano also holds the NHL all-time record for most points scored by
a U.S. born player. He broke the record, which previously belonged
to
Phil Housley, on November 7, 2007 by
scoring two goals in the first five minutes, with the
record-breaker being a short-handed goal on a breakaway, against
the
San Jose Sharks. That night,
amongst his congratulatory phone calls was one from
Air Force One, U.S. President
George W. Bush
spoke to him for a few minutes about the record.
November
21, 2007 was "Mike Modano Tribute Night" at American
Airlines Center
, where Modano was honored by the franchise for his
achievements in U.S. hockey. Those who spoke in the pre-game
ceremony included
Brett Hull,
Joe Mullen,
Phil
Housley, and Stars owner
Tom Hicks.
Capping off an emotional night, Modano later went on to score the
game-tying goal in a 2–1 victory against the
Anaheim Ducks.
Modano has indicated in interviews that he intends to play out the
duration of his current contract, which expires after the 2009–2010
season. After doing so, he will take his career on a year-to-year
basis, move into a front office position with the Stars similar to
Brett Hull, or move on without hockey
altogether.
[[http://cumuluspodcasting.com/media/KTCK/KTCK109/KTCK_052008_1-HL-Modano.mp3
audio]]
Personal life
On November 30, 2006,
Willa Ford
announced that long-time boyfriend Modano had proposed to her
during the weekend of Thanksgiving, 2006.
Modano and Ford were
married in a small ceremony in Athens, Texas
on August 25, 2007, where Brett Hull and
Darryl Sydor attended as Modano's
co-best men.. Ford was asked by the
NHL to blog the Stars' 2007 playoff series; her posts were
well-received, and her support of her husband quite vocal.
Mr. Mike Modano is the founder and current Vice President of the
Mike Modano Foundation, Inc., which raises awareness and funding
for organizations offering education and assistance to children and
families affected by
child abuse.
Moreover, since the start of his NHL career, Modano has affiliated
many times with both
charitable
organizations and the Texas community in general. He has also
had his own clothing line during the 1990s.
Modano made a brief cameo appearance alongside then-teammate
Basil McRae in the 1992 film
The Mighty Ducks. He only
had two lines in the movie, in which he said to
Emilio Estevez, "I thought you were a farmer"
and "take it easy." Nonetheless, Modano still received a membership
voucher to the
Screen Actors
Guild for the role.
Modano once babysat current Stars teammate
Toby Petersen after meeting him at a youth
hockey camp.
Stars captain
Brenden Morrow has
stated in an interview that Modano likes to walk around hotel rooms
naked.
Modano is an avid
golfer.
On Mike Modano Tribute
Night, both the Dallas Stars and
Anaheim Ducks organizations presented
him with golf packages, one of which was for the course at The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St
Andrews
in Scotland
. His
golf partner is often Stars co-general manager Brett Hull.
In 2008, Brett Hull and Modano founded Hully & Mo Restaurant
and Tap Room in Dallas.
Awards and achievements
Records
- Minnesota North
Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record
for career games played (1400)
- Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career
goals (543)
- Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career
assists (786)
- Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career
points (1329)
- Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career
playoff games (174)
- Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career
playoff goals (58)
- Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career
playoff assists (87)
- Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career
playoff points (145)
- National
Hockey League record for most goals scored by an American-born
player (543)
- National Hockey League record for most points by an
American-born player (1329)
- National Hockey League record for most points by an
American-born player in the playoffs (145)
Career statistics
|
|
Regular season |
|
Playoffs |
Season |
Team |
League |
GP |
G |
A |
Pts |
PIM |
GP |
G |
A |
Pts |
PIM |
1985–86 |
Detroit Compuware |
MNHL |
69 |
66 |
65 |
131 |
32 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
1986–87 |
Prince Albert Raiders |
WHL |
70 |
32 |
30 |
62 |
96 |
8 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
1987–88 |
Prince Albert Raiders |
WHL |
65 |
47 |
80 |
127 |
80 |
9 |
7 |
11 |
18 |
18 |
1988–89 |
Prince Albert Raiders |
WHL |
41 |
39 |
66 |
105 |
74 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
1989–90 |
Minnesota North Stars |
NHL |
80 |
29 |
46 |
75 |
63 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
12 |
1990–91 |
Minnesota North Stars |
NHL |
79 |
28 |
36 |
64 |
65 |
23 |
8 |
12 |
20 |
6 |
1991–92 |
Minnesota North Stars |
NHL |
76 |
33 |
44 |
77 |
46 |
7 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
4 |
1992–93 |
Minnesota North Stars |
NHL |
82 |
33 |
60 |
93 |
83 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
1993–94 |
Dallas Stars |
NHL |
76 |
50 |
43 |
93 |
54 |
9 |
7 |
3 |
10 |
16 |
1994–95 |
Dallas Stars |
NHL |
30 |
12 |
17 |
29 |
8 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
1995–96 |
Dallas Stars |
NHL |
78 |
36 |
45 |
81 |
63 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
1996–97 |
Dallas Stars |
NHL |
80 |
35 |
48 |
83 |
42 |
7 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
1997–98 |
Dallas Stars |
NHL |
52 |
21 |
38 |
59 |
32 |
17 |
4 |
10 |
14 |
12 |
1998–99 |
Dallas Stars |
NHL |
77 |
34 |
47 |
81 |
44 |
23 |
5 |
18 |
23 |
16 |
1999–00 |
Dallas Stars |
NHL |
77 |
38 |
43 |
81 |
48 |
23 |
10 |
13 |
23 |
10 |
2000–01 |
Dallas Stars |
NHL |
81 |
33 |
51 |
84 |
52 |
9 |
3 |
4 |
7 |
0 |
2001–02 |
Dallas Stars |
NHL |
78 |
34 |
43 |
77 |
38 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
2002–03 |
Dallas Stars |
NHL |
79 |
28 |
57 |
85 |
30 |
12 |
5 |
10 |
15 |
4 |
2003–04 |
Dallas Stars |
NHL |
76 |
14 |
30 |
44 |
46 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
8 |
2005–06 |
Dallas Stars |
NHL |
78 |
27 |
50 |
77 |
58 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
2006–07 |
Dallas Stars |
NHL |
59 |
22 |
21 |
43 |
34 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
2007–08 |
Dallas Stars |
NHL |
82 |
21 |
36 |
57 |
48 |
18 |
5 |
7 |
12 |
22 |
2008–09 |
Dallas Stars |
NHL |
80 |
15 |
31 |
46 |
46 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
— |
WHL totals |
176 |
118 |
176 |
294 |
250 |
17 |
8 |
15 |
23 |
22 |
NHL totals |
1400 |
543 |
786 |
1329 |
896 |
174 |
58 |
87 |
145 |
128 |
International play
Played for the
United States in:
International statistics
Year |
Team |
Event |
|
GP |
G |
A |
Pts |
PIM |
1988 |
USA |
WJC |
7 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
8 |
1989 |
USA |
WJC |
7 |
6 |
9 |
15 |
12 |
1990 |
USA |
WC |
8 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
1991 |
USA |
CC |
8 |
2 |
7 |
9 |
2 |
1993 |
USA |
WC |
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1996 |
USA |
WCH |
7 |
2 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
1998 |
USA |
Oly |
4 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2002 |
USA |
Oly |
6 |
0 |
6 |
6 |
4 |
2004 |
USA |
WCH |
5 |
0 |
6 |
6 |
0 |
2005 |
USA |
WC |
7 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
2006 |
USA |
Oly |
6 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
Senior int'l totals |
57 |
14 |
27 |
41 |
24 |
See also
References
External links
title = Dallas Stars captains| years = 2007–08 NHL season | after= = incumbent