panoo

First overall pick in 1988 entry draft has wheels that never stop rolling
Tony Gallagher, The Province
Published: Monday, April 23, 2007

DALLAS - In some of the darker moments with those exceptional Dallas Stars teams in the late 1990s, when the defensive system was chafing a couple of the resident offensive greats, Brett Hull used to say the best way to stop Mike Modano was to "let Ken Hitchcock coach him."

As it turns out, not even that could slow him down. Neither could Dave Tippett, although this Stars system now makes Hitchcock's look like one the Mississippi Gambler might have constructed by comparison.

In an era when Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman and Joe Sakic defined the centre position, the greatness of Mike Modano has been grossly understated since he joined the Minnesota North Stars as the first overall pick in the 1988 NHL entry draft.

Compared to those guys, Modano played his whole career with a millstone around his neck, held back by club rules like the ones Hitchcock insisted upon: Never crisscross when on a rush. Wingers had to stay in their lanes and go up and down the ice in robotic fashion. And nowadays they can't even go all the way up the ice unless the conditions are just right.

Yet this wonderful talent and exceptionally approachable athlete has managed to push past the 500-goal mark, which makes him the highest-scoring U.S.-born player, but just as importantly a first-ballot Hall of Famer and without question one of the greatest to have ever put on a pair of skates.

Imagine Modano's numbers had he played with the kind of wingers those other guys enjoyed in systems that put a value on offence: Gretzky had Jari Kurri; Sakic had Milan Hejduk, Alex Tanguay and Peter Forsberg as running mates; Lemieux played some of his career with a young Jaromir Jagr.

Most of Modano's wingers have been the two most-gifted checkers on the roster, largely because Hitchcock always wanted his top line to play heads up at home against the opponents' top line. And the priority was not offence.

If you think about it, which of these above players was a better skater, the chief component of greatness in so many players? Lemieux had a better reach, Gretzky better hockey sense and Sakic a better wrist shot, but Modano's wheels? They haven't stopped rolling.

His goal -- which put Dallas ahead to stay Saturday in Game 6 against the Vancouver Canucks -- was his 53rd career playoff marker and his 133rd point, but the testament to his talent is that at age 37 he's still abused in the media when he isn't leading the Stars in scoring.

FULL STORY