Michael Thomas Modano Jr. (; born June 7, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played as a center and spent most of his career with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise. He spent the final season of his career with his hometown Detroit Red Wings.
The all-time goal-scoring leader amongst American-born players in NHL history, Modano is widely regarded as one of the greatest American-born ice hockey players of all time. He was drafted first overall by the North Stars in 1988. After the team moved to Texas, he led the Stars to two straight first-place regular season finishes in 1998 and 1999, and the Stanley Cup in 1999.
Modano is considered one of the most influential figures in popularizing ice hockey in Texas and the southern United States.Mike Modano Says Goodbye, Grantland Modano was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 17, 2014. In 2017, he was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players. In 2019, he was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame.
Early life Modano was born in Livonia, Michigan, the third child and only son of Michael Sr. and Karen Modano. He grew up in Highland Township, and due to causing problems at school with his mischievous behavior, a friend of his father suggested to put Modano in a team sport to get him controlled. Michael Sr. was a fan of hockey, and decided to teach ice skating to seven-year-old Modano. He learned it well, and six months later was put in local hockey teams. As a youth, he was part of a Detroit Red Wings team in the 1982 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. To spend his minor hockey career with the Detroit Little Caesar's Triple AAA Hockey Club, the Modano family moved to Westland, where he also attended Franklin High School (Livonia, Michigan). He made the Midget Major team at the age of fourteen when his teammates were two to three years older. In the 1984–85 season, Modano scored 50 goals and 50 assists on the way to win the USA Hockey National Championship in 1985. As a child Modano decided to pick the number 9 for his jersey in an homage to both Ted Williams, an idol of his Boston Red Sox fan father, and the Red Wings' own Gordie Howe.
Playing career
Minor leagues (1986–1988) In 1986, 16-year-old Modano was invited by coach Rick Wilson of the Prince Albert Raiders to come to Saskatchewan and join the Western Hockey League team. At his very first game, he scored a hat trick, and by his second year, Modano was part of the WHL All-Star Team. Four days after Modano's eighteenth birthday, the Minnesota North Stars selected him as the first overall draft pick in the 1988 NHL entry draft. Modano was the second American to be selected first overall in the draft, after Brian Lawton in 1983. Contract problems led Modano to play one more season with the Raiders.
Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars (1988–2010)
The North Stars signed Modano on Christmas of 1988, and he joined the team for the 1989–90 season. He scored his first career NHL goal against Glenn Healy of the New York Islanders, and had a good rookie season which landed him on the NHL All-Rookie team. Modano was a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy but controversially lost to 31-year-old Sergei Makarov, who had already played professionally in the Soviet Championship League for over 12 years; this led to an age barrier of 26 for Calder candidates from the following year to the present.
Despite the good start, Modano was often criticized in Minnesota as an underachiever. This was evidenced by a sophomore season where the North Stars reached the 1991 Stanley Cup Final, but Modano's point production dropped, while confronting head coach Bob Gainey for his overtly defensive style. In 1992, Modano signed a four-year extension that made him the highest-paid member of the team, receiving $2 million per year. He soon had his best season up to that point, scoring 93 points at the 1992–93 NHL season and earning his first NHL All-Star Game invitation.
Stars move to Dallas Prior to the 1993–94 NHL season, the North Stars moved to Dallas to become the Dallas Stars. Considering the relocation to Texas as an opportunity for a fresh start, with different expectations from fans and the media, Modano decided to accept Gainey's suggestions to become a more complete player and perform more attacks. Modano recorded a personal-best 50 goals and again scored 93 points. Soon he became an idol in Dallas, becoming the player who sold the most jerseys and received the most letters. During the next two seasons, Modano lowered his goalscoring and had many injuries – a concussion, a knee injury and ruptured ankle tendons – but improved his defensive play. Despite that, the Stars failed to qualify for the 1996 Stanley Cup playoffs, and Gainey stepped down as head coach, while remaining general manager.
Ken Hitchcock was hired on January 8, 1996, as the new head coach, installing a defensive-minded system while requesting Modano to concentrate on his offense and using him more routinely – instead of the 15–18 minutes he played under Gainey, Modano routinely played 25 minutes with Hitchcock. Helped by the acquisitions of Joe Nieuwendyk and Sergei Zubov, Modano led the Stars to the Central Division title in the 1996–97 season, but they lost in the opening round of the playoffs to the underdog Edmonton Oilers.
In the 1997–98 season, having acquired goaltender Ed Belfour, the Stars won the Presidents' Trophy with the league's top regular season record, edging out the New Jersey Devils. In the 1998 Stanley Cup playoffs the Stars defeated the San Jose Sharks in six games and the Edmonton Oilers in give games to reached the Western Conference Final where they fell in six games to the eventual back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, the Detroit Red Wings.
In the 1998-99 season, having signed Brett Hull, the Stars won their second straight Presidents' Trophy. The Stars swept the eighth seeded Edmonton Oilers, then defeated the fifth seeded St. Louis Blues in six games. In the Western Conference Final against the Colorado Avalanche, the Stars prevailed in seven games after falling behind in the series 3-2. In the Stanley Cup Final against the Buffalo Sabres, Modano played all six games of the series despite breaking his wrist in game two. Modano assisted on the Stars' final five goals of the series, including both in game five and game six, the latter by Brett Hull in the third overtime period which won the Stanley Cup for the Stars. Modano led the Stars with 23 points in the playoffs, with all seven in the finals on assists. During celebrations, Modano tossed his wrist cast into the crowd.
In the 1999-2000 season, the Stars captured their fourth straight Pacific Division title, although they only finished third in the Western Conference behind the St. Louis Blues and Detroit Red Wings. In the playoffs, the Stars eliminated the Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks, winning each series in five games. In a rematch with the Colorado Avalanche which went to seven games, the Stars captured their second consecutive Western Conference title. The Stars returned to the finals in 2000 against the New Jersey Devils. In game two, Modano assisted on both goals by Hull to give the Stars a 2-1 victory, and in game five, he deflected Hull's shot to score the winning goal past Martin Brodeur in triple overtime. In game six in Dallas, Modano assisted on Mike Keane's game-tying goal, but the Devils scored in double overtime to win the series 4–2. Hull and Modano led the postseason in scoring, with Modano putting together 23 playoff points for the second straight year.
Modano averaged 78 points per season from 1996 to 2002, and was also one of the NHL's top forwards in plus/minus over that span (his +43 in 1997 was second only to John LeClair's +44 mark). Modano's career high for points in a game is six (2–4–6) against the Anaheim Ducks, and he has seven career hat tricks. His only career fight was against Rod Brind'Amour. He was also a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy (2001), and the Lady Byng Trophy (2003). In 2002-03, Modano was named the captain of the Western Conference All-Star team.
2005–2010 As 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 he decided to stay with the Stars after owner Tom Hicks got involved. Modano would sign a five-year contract extension with Dallas on August 5, 2005. On September 29, 2006, Brenden Morrow replaced him as the Stars' captain; Modano served an alternate captain from that time until 2010, a role in which he had previously served from 1995 to 2003.
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.
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.
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.
The Stars' game on November 21, 2007, was named "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, as well as a shootout goal in a 3–2 Stars victory against the Anaheim Ducks.
The Stars had their deepest playoff run since 2000 during the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs, when they eliminated the defending champions Anaheim Ducks, before being eliminated in the Conference Final by the eventual champions Detroit Red Wings. With his production declining from 2007 to 2010, Modano played out the duration of his contract, which expired after the 2009–10 season. Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk decided to let Modano leave the organization after 22 years with the franchise. Nieuwendyk stated that not offering Modano a new contract was a difficult choice, as he played with Modano and considered him a friend. In the final game of that season (coincidentally played in Minnesota, where Modano began his pro career), Modano was saluted with a video tribute and a standing ovation, and named the game's first star, skating around the ice wearing a Minnesota North Stars jersey.
Detroit Red Wings (2010–2011)
On June 29, 2010, the Stars announced that Modano would not be re-signed to a contract for the 2010–11 season. After contemplating retirement or signing with the Detroit Red Wings (in his home state) or with the Minnesota Wild (in the state where he began his NHL career), Modano signed a one-year contract with the Red Wings. As the no. 9 jersey had been retired by the Red Wings, Modano went for no. 90 instead. Coach Mike Babcock expressed a desire for Modano to center Detroit's third line with Dan Cleary and Jiří Hudler.
At 5:35 of the first period of Detroit's 2010–11 home opener, on just his second shift, Modano took a pass from Cleary and beat Anaheim goaltender Jonas Hiller for his first goal as a Red Wing.