Tonight, Saturday 8 Mar 2014, the Dallas Stars (Hack hack cough cough) will retire the jersey of #9 Mike Modano in a pre-game cermony before the puck drops vs. our Minnesota Wild.
Modano was the first overall selection in the 1988 NHL Draft of the then Minnesota North Stars. He began his NHL playing career in the 1989 season and played for the North Stars until the end of the 1992-'93 season when they pulled up stake and moved to Dallas to protect Norm Green, the slippery and slimey owner at the time.
Modano continued to play for the franchise until the end of the 2009 -'10 season when they declined to resign him. Modano knew he was going to play one more year and the decision was to either skate for his hometown Detroit Red Wings or in the State of Hockey for the Minnesota Wild where he began his career. Ultimately the pull to play his final season in front of family and friends was too much and he played his final season in 2010-'11 for the Red Wings.
Modano was always classy and played at the highest level. He was an inspiration to many and respected by nearly all.
However Modano had one instance that will always taint his image in my eyes when he made things personal and disrespected Minnesota Hockey fans. Modano made the comment that Minnesota didn't deserve a new hockey franchise as the community attempted to get an expansion team to replace the departed North Stars. He has never recanted that statement, although since the Wild has begun play he has been treated with nothing but respect and admiration for his contributions to hockey in general but more specifically to the North Stars.
Prior to the NORTH STARS leaving Minnesota attendance was admittedly down. However this was in large part due to the lack of ownership commitment to putting a quality team on the ice. Both Norm Green and his predecessor Howard Baldwin made no effort to put together a quality team. Minnesota is a community that lives for hockey and is extremely knowledgeable. The fans here had no interest in a second rate product when there were other quality hockey options available such as the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
The idea that moving the team was due to lack of fan support is ludicrous. Many forget that when the Gund Brothers sold the North Stars to Howard Baldwin it was with the stipulation that they be awarded the expansion franchise in San Jose, California, now known as the San Jose Sharks which began play in 1991. As part of that deal the NHL allowed the Gunds to rape, rob and pilage their former franchise taking numerous players with them in a very unbalanced expansion draft that decimated the North Stars and which was/is unprecedented in modern NHL or for that matter pro sports history.
Howard Baldwin in his short stint as owner did nothing to improve the team but rather cashed out in a hurry, selling to the infamous Norm Green. A shady owner who had numerous personal financial issues as well as several other allegations during his short time in Minnesota.
The team did however go to the Stanley Cup Finals as the last playoff seed in 1991. Two years later Norm Green was moving the team saying fans didn't support the team. Green made one attempt to get a new arena or renovations for the Met Center before pulling up stakes. Brand new Commissioner at the time Gary Bettman made no attempt to get Green to work with the community to find a solution and allowed them to leave, effectively taking a dump on a community that had supported the team and the NHL since 1967.
Bettman later said that allowing that to happen was a mistake, yet he fought every attempt Minnesota made to get a franchise back until the community was finally awarded a second expansion franchise which began play in 2000-'01 as the Minnesota Wild.
Now that Minnesota has the Wild we are a model franchise and NHL community. It helps when ownership shows a commitment to it's fans to put a competitive team on the ice and doesn't disrespect one of the most knowledgeable fan bases in the NHL.
Ok so that was a bit of a ramble but the point is to refute Modano's comment that Minnesota fans were not supportive and the community didn't deserve a team. To that I say Mike Modano suck it, but thanks for the memories.
