Mike Modano announces retirement

[germany00]

Mike Modano turned to social media to announce his retirement on Wednesday.

Modano, the all-time leading NHL scorer among U.S.-born players, posted the news on his Facebook and Twitter accounts and also announced he will be holding a press conference Friday.

"After a long summer of thinking about my future, I've come to the decision that it's time to retire as a player from the NHL," Modano wrote on his Facebook page, a link to which he also posted to his Twitter account. "There's way too many people to thank here at this time and too much to say, so I have a press conference scheduled for early Friday afternoon. Check back Friday late afternoon for more. What a great ride it's been!"

Modano played 1,499 regular-season NHL games, including 1,459 with the Minnesota/Dallas franchise, and finished his career with 561 goals and 813 assists for 1,374 points. The first pick of the 1988 Entry Draft, he made his NHL debut with the North Stars in 1989 and played 21 seasons. The native of Livonia, Mich., returned home last season to play with the Red Wings, but injuries limited him to only 40 games.

"We thank Mike for giving National Hockey League fans 21 years of thrills with his speed, his skill, his craftsmanship and his class," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement released Wednesday. "Mike also excelled on the international stage, representing the NHL and USA Hockey with great distinction. We congratulate this great representative of the game on an outstanding career and wish him the very best in the future."

A number of current and former players took to social media to congratulate Modano on his career.

"The greatest American player ever," ex-teammate Brett Hull told The Hockey News. "I don't think there's one better. He's by far No. 1."

"Congrats to (Modano) on a great career," tweeted Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul. "One of my favorites growing up. Always enjoyed playing against him, Sakic and Yzerman the most.

"Congrats to mike modano on a great career, did alot of great things for hockey in the US over his career," tweeted Philadelphia Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk.

"Congrats to Mike Modano on a great career!" added Anaheim Ducks forward Bobby Ryan on his Twitter account. "The reason I picked number 9! What an awesome player, thanks for showing young Americans the way!"

Modano won the Stanley Cup with the Stars in 1999. He holds NHL records for the most goals, points, playoff points (145) and games played by a U.S.-born player.

He also holds Minnesota/Dallas franchise records for games played in the regular season, games played in the playoffs (174), goals in the regular season (557), goals in the playoffs (58), assists in the regular season (802), assists in the playoffs (87) and points in both the regular season (1,359) and playoffs (145).

Modano was named to the NHL's All-Rookie team in 1990 and played in eight All-Star Games over his career.

 

[RipCity32]

Good choice. Kudos to a wonderful career. Glad he ended it here.

 

[germany00]

Gonna miss the guy, he was one of the greatest hockey player to ever come out of America

 

[Lake Louise]

Would of been nice to get that Cup for him as a Wing. Glad he finished things out as a Wing. He was one of those guys I really liked watching, especially because he's a US-born player. Congrats on a fantastic career.

 

[sheed]

Sucks how his career ended, with his injury and barely any playoff time. Although, I am happy it ended here.

 

[footballplaya52]

1499 games, play one more son!

 

[WHO-DEY-BENGALS_18]

Gonna miss the guy, he was one of the greatest hockey player to ever come out of America

Sure was, I'm gonna miss him too. As others have said, at least he will retire as a Detroit Red Wing.

 

[dh1333]

Mike Modano will retire as a Dallas Star, after all

Plenty of Hall of Fame players spent the vast majority of their careers with one team, only to leave – and look just wrong – in a different uniform for a season or two.

Most of the time, those situations didn’t end up very pretty for anyone involved. For every instance in which a player makes their former clubs eat crow (see: Jerry Rice’s resurgence with the Oakland Raiders), there are several minor disasters. Off the top of my head, here are some obvious examples of ugly changes of scenery.

Emmitt Smith grinding it out with the Arizona Cardinals.
Patrick Ewing being ineffective the Seattle Sonics and Orlando Magic; Hakeen Olajuwon spending his last season with the Toronto Raptors.
Finally, for more “vintage” examples: Johnny Unitas wearing a Charges uniform and Bobby Orr’s final days with Chicago Blackhawks.
For Dallas Stars fans, Mike Modano’s final season was even worse than those examples because he suited up with one of the team’s most hated rivals, the Detroit Red Wings. When this first happened, Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk was chastised for “running Modano out of town,” which was absurd since the team probably stuck with their franchise player for at least 1-2 seasons beyond his usefulness. (That much was made clear by a flop of a final season in Detroit in which Modano scored just 15 points in 40 games.)

Either way, it was sad that Modano left the game with a whimper, especially after his rousing final game with the Stars. On the bright side, the Stars announced that they “signed” Modano to a one-day contract today. In a rather adorable gesture, the “amount” of the contract will be $999,999, an ode to Modano’s number 9. (The Stars won’t have to pay him anything since he retired.)

“This is a special day for all of us,” said Nieuwendyk. “Mike Modano will always be the face of this franchise. He means so much to our organization and all of our fans. We wanted to give him the opportunity to retire as a Dallas Star. Mike has given his heart and soul to this game for over 30 years. On behalf of the entire organization and the National Hockey League, we would like to thank him for his dedication.”

The one-day contract for a beloved franchise star is a heart-warming and time-honored gesture. Relating back to those previous examples of players suiting up with new teams in awful ways, Smith and Rice were among the greats who signed one-day contracts upon retirement with the franchises they had been inextricably linked to.

Considering Modano’s impact on the Stars franchise – and USA Hockey in general – it’s great to see this happen. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if Modano becomes a member of the team’s front office in the near future, if he decides to go in that direction.

Speaking of Modano’s importance to the Stars, we’ll leave you with the franchise records he holds, via the team.

Games Played: 1,459
Goals: 557
Assists: 802
Points: 1,359
Overtime goals: 9
Penalty Shots: 4
Goals in a season by a center: 50 (1993-94)
Hat tricks in a season: 3 (1998-99) – tied w/4
Power play goals: 156
Shorthanded goals: 29
Even-strength goals: 372
Game-winning goals: 92
Most 20-Goal Seasons: 16
Most 30-Goal Seasons: 9
Power play assists: 331
Shots: 4,194
Highest +/- in a season: +43 (1996-97)
Playoff Games: 174
Playoff Goals: 58
Playoff Assists: 87
Playoff Points: 145

Classy move by the Stars. I wonder if he'll suit up for their game tonight haha