Mike Modano confirmed on Tuesday morning that he will play for the Detroit Red Wings this upcoming season. (Photo Credit: Dinur)
When the Dallas Stars take to the ice on October 8th in New Jersey, they will do so for the first time in 21 years without Mike Modano on their roster.
Modano confirmed to the Detroit Free Press this morning that he will be playing for the Detroit Red Wings in the 2010-2011 season, officially ending his ties with the Stars, the franchise that drafted him in 1988.
The move didn’t come as a shock to anyone, really, but at the same time it finalizes everything. This puts things in ink when before they were in pencil. The face of the Stars franchise for two decades is now with another franchise.
The Stars won’t have to play too many games before they face him. When Dallas plays their home opener – the third game on their schedule – on October 14th, Mike Modano will most likely be on the ice in Red Wing red and white. I imagine the AAC fans will greet him warmly – I can’t see the fans booing him – but it will be a difficult sight for many to see.
But, I will say I’m in what appears to be the minority who think that Joe Nieuwendyk made the right decision when it came to Mo. It wasn’t an easy one, and it wasn’t the popular one, but it was the right one. Modano’s passion had left. The last couple of games he played in a Stars uniform were the most passionate he’d played all season. And perhaps that was because he knew those games were the last. But, as a good GM, Nieuwy couldn’t continue to hold up the development of players like Tom Wandell and Jamie Benn in order to let Mike play out another year for the Stars when he just wasn’t delivering in performance.
The move to Detroit should be a positive one for Modano. He’s going to sign a one-year deal, so he isn’t obligated for a long period of time, he gets to play for his hometown team, and he’s got lots of talent around him, so he should be energized to play for a winning team. And it’s just too hard to hold it against him for wanting another chance at the Cup, when the Stars are shackled with financial issues and identity questions.
The other rumor in the mill, before today’s confirmation about Detroit, was that Modano might head to San Jose and play for the Sharks. They almost certainly would have offered the money he’ll get paid in Detroit (ESPN is saying 1.25 M). And, unlike Detroit, he would have been able to keep the peace at home a bit more, staying closer to his wife Mandy (stage name Willa Ford), an actress who often works in Los Angeles.
But this was never about that perfect home situation. It wasn’t ever about finishing his career when others told him it should be done. Mo wants to play, wants to win, and wants to do it in the team colors he grew up supporting. And the fan in us has to understand that. We just don’t have to like it.
So long, Mo. Thanks for all the memories.
