Modano on Future: Dallas not in the Scheme

Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas has wrote an article on the possible future for the Dallas Stars as he ponders what he will do as his contract expires on July 1. He mentions that if he does come back, it would be for someone else and not for the Stars or he could end up retiring depending on what kind of offers could come his way.

Personally, if he does play for somebody else. It would be a gut check for D/FW Sports Fans as he is among the a dying breed as he has played his entire career with the Minnesota/Dallas Franchise and it would look very weird for one thing. But also he has been relativity healthy for most of his career without just a lot of major injures. If a team could offer him a chance where he could be a strong 3rd line for a contender that he wouldn't have to worry about being one of the biggest and most important names on the team.

But if he does retire, he will remembered as one of the great athletes in D/FW Sports History for not just bringing the Stanley Cup to Dallas back in 1999 and coming close on a couple of other occasions in both Dallas & Minnesota. But helping a city help build the sport in an area that's gone from no knowledge of the game, to being one of the best hockey cities in the Sun Belt part of the country in just under 20 years.


From Richard Durrett of ESPN Dallas: http://espn.go.com/dallas/

Veteran free agent Mike Modano said he's going to wait until at least July before deciding on his future, but he sounds like a player who doesn't expect to return to the Dallas Stars.

"The more and more I look at the situation here, I come to believe i'm not in the scheme of things," Modano said Monday. "If I had to play, I may have to look at going elsewhere."

NHL Free Agency begins on July 1. At that point, Modano will see what kind of interest other teams have in him. But he hasn't decided if he wants to play for anybody but the Stars' org, which whom he has spent all 20 seasons - 16 in Dallas, four in Minnesota.

"It depends on what kind of interest and what teams," Modano said. "I'd probably take two or three weeks in that month and see who comes calling and if there's connection with those teams that call. I'd want to play for a competitive team, someone that might have a legitimate shot at winning it all."

Modano, who has 557 goals and 802 assists in his career, also said how he's used on the ice would factor on his decision.

"It depends on who i'd play and who I feel I can make some plays and make decisions on the ice," Modano said. "I just need help as far as quickness and pace of the game now." You can't make it work the way it used to with any given line-mate. You need help now".

Modano said he's continued his offseason workouts as if he's playing, which was his plan even before the season ended.

"You always feel you can still play," Modano said. "I'm working out like i'm going to play." If I do get an opportunity to do something, I'd be ready. If not, I'll come to the end of July and say, "That's it"

Modano acknowledged that it's never the same, for athletes that leave a longtime team and go somewhere else.

"It never seems to be a fit," he said. "Brett Farve is the only one I can think of in the last half-dozen or so years that it worked out. That's why it would depend on who's on the team, who the coach is, do I have a relationship with guys on the team. You have to go to a good, challenging, competitive team."

Stars VP Brett Hull, who was a teammate of Modano's when the Stars won the Stanley Cup in the 1998-1999 season, believe Modano should return. "I think you'd be crazy not to look at the endless possibilities Mike gives a team," Hull said Monday on ESPN's 103.3 FM Lunch with a Legend. "He can fill in or even play on your top 2 offensive lines. He's one of the most intelligent players. I don't see how any team wouldn't want him. I think he's crazy to quit, whetever it's here or another team"