Ice Hockey Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Mike Modano
Mikemodano
Position Center
Shoots Left
Nickname(s) Mo, Mikey Mo, Magic Mo
Height
Weight
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
NHL Team Dallas Stars
 Detroit Red Wings
Nationality Flag of the United States American
Born (1970-06-07)June 7, 1970,
Livonia, MI, U.S.
NHL Draft 1st overall, 1988
Minnesota North Stars
Pro Career 1989 – 2011

Michael Thomas Modano, Jr. (born June 7 1970, in Livonia, Michigan) is a retired professional hockey player who played the majority of his career for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League. He is the all-time goal-scoring and points leader amongst American-born players in the NHL.[1]

Playing career[]

Mike Modano played 20 of his 21 NHL seasons with the Stars franchise. At the age of 17, he was the first overall draft pick in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, an honor shared by only 5 other Americans: Brian Lawton (1983), Bryan Berard (1995), Rick DiPietro (2000), Erik Johnson (2006) and Patrick Kane (2007).

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 championship 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 lost the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the year's best rookie, to 31-year-old Sergei Makarov; because of this, the NHL imposed an age barrier for Calder candidates the following year. His best statistical seasons were in 1992-93 and 1993-94, when he had 93 points each. During the 1993-94 season, the franchise's first in Dallas, Modano recorded a personal-best 50 goals. His career high for points in a game is 6 (2-4-6) against the Anaheim Ducks. Modano has 7 career hat tricks. 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. On August 5, 2005, he signed a 5-year contract extension with Dallas. On September 29, 2006, he was replaced as the Stars' captain by Brenden Morrow, and was an alternate captain, a role in which he had previously served from 1995 to 2003.

Modano was the last remaining North Stars player to play with the Dallas Stars. Jere Lehtinen, who was drafted in 1992 when the franchise was still in the Twin Cities, never played an NHL game until the 1995-96 season, more than two years after the move.

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 Niittymaki 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, 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 now 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.

November 21, 2007 was "Mike Modano Tribute Night", where Modano was honoured 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 owner Tom Hicks. Modano later went on to score the game-tying goal in a 2-1 victory against the Anaheim Ducks.

Modano indicated in interviews that he intended to play out the duration of his contract, which expired after the 2009-2010 season. The Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk decided not to resign the 40-year-old center after the 2009-2010 season. Modano played his final home game April 8th, 2010 against the Anaheim Ducks assisting on Jamie Benn's first period goal, scoring the game tying goal in the third period on a deflection, and scoring the winning goal in the shootout. Modano collected 1st star of the game honors for his efforts. Modano played his final game as a Dallas Star April 10, 2010 against the Minnesota Wild.

Personal life[]

During the Thanksgiving of 2006, Modano proposed to his on and off girlfriend of 4 years, Willa Ford. Modano and Ford were married in a small ceremony in Athens, Texas on August 25, 2007.

Modano has two golden retrievers, Scout and Bella.

Modano is the founder and current Vice President of the Mike Modano Foundation, which raises awareness and funding for organizations offering education and assistance to children and families affected by child abuse.

Awards and achievements[]

  • East First All-Star Team (WHL) - 1989
  • NHL All-Rookie Team - 1990
  • NHL Second All-Star Team - 2000
  • NHL All-Star Games - 1993, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003 (as the Western Conference team captain), 2004, 2007 (as the Special Ambassador)
  • Stanley Cup champion - 1999

Records[]

(as of last completed NHL season)

  • Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career games played (1238)
  • Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career goals (507)
  • Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career assists (719)
  • Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career points (1226)
  • Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career playoff games (156)
  • Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career playoff goals (53)
  • Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career playoff assists (80)
  • Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise record for career playoff points (133)
  • National Hockey League record for most goals scored by an American-born player (511)
  • National Hockey League record for most points by an American-born player (1233)

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
WHL Totals 176 118 176 294 250 17 8 15 23 22
NHL Totals 1238 507 719 1226 806 156 53 80 133 106

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[]

External links[]


Dallas Stars Captains
Tinordi | Broten | Hatcher | Modano | Morrow | Benn


National Hockey League first overall draft picks

Monahan Gauthier Veilleux Gibbs Pagnutti Plasse Houle Perreault Lafleur Harris Potvin Joly Bridgman Green McCourt Smith Ramage Wickenheiser Hawerchuk Kluzak Lawton Lemieux Clark Murphy Turgeon Modano Sundin Nolan Lindros Hamrlík Daigle Jovanovski Berard Phillips Thornton Lecavalier Štefan DiPietro Kovalchuk Nash Fleury Ovechkin Crosby Johnson Kane Stamkos

Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars first-round draft picks
Minnesota: CheesmanBenzelockRedmondByersHicksBryan MaxwellSharpleyBrad MaxwellSmithHartsburgMcCarthyPalmerMeighanBellowsLawtonQuinnBabeArchibaldModanoZmolekHatcherMatvichuk
Dallas: HarveyBotterillIginlaJackmanMorrowOttBacashihuaVagnerFistricNiskanenVishnevskiy
Advertisement