Mike Modano

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.

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)

International play
Played for the United States in:
 * 1988 World Junior Championships
 * 1989 World Junior Championships
 * 1990 World Championships
 * 1991 Canada Cup (silver medal)
 * 1993 World Championships
 * 1996 World Cup of Hockey (gold medal)
 * 1998 Winter Olympics
 * 2002 Winter Olympics (silver medal)
 * 2004 World Cup of Hockey
 * 2005 World Championships
 * 2006 Winter Olympics

International statistics