The Wild should “just say no” to Mike Modano

I have to admit, if there was a TV show that I must admit gave me a lot of good laughs as well as an opportunity to reminisce about my childhood it was VH1’s I Love the 80’s.  I loved the commentary from the various comedians and stars as they examined all the parts of history, pop culture and music that made the 1980’s year by year.  Whether it was making fun of the fashion trends of those days, like Members Only jackets (which I’ve seen are coming back, yikes) or the great distraction that was the Rubik’s Cube, or a hilarious re-examination of the cartoon series He-Man.  It was a great show and at the time it was obvious it connected with Generation X’ers like myself as they made an additional version of I Love the 80’s.  What resonated with viewers like myself was how it captured the feelings of these events, people, music and fads and then added a little bit of current opinion as the viewers have a little more experience to look at these experiences with an enhanced perspective.  I still remember hearing all the hype about the possible discovery some stash of loot from Chicago-based crime boss Al Capone, in his TV special The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vault by famous investigative reporter Geraldo Rivera back in 1986.  After a huge ad campaign hyping the event, and all the discussion about what possible treasures could be found a brick wall was knocked down revealing a dusy room with a broken chair and a few empty bottles.  It was a hilarious let down, but not all wishes come true as Geraldo Rivera no doubt was hoping for.

People remember the past often with a level of nostalgia that usually softens the rough edges of the people they may at one time looked up to and at times even makes people overlook the questionable or offensive events.  I think that is really what has happened with all the talk in Minnesota media circles regarding a possible return of former North Stars stud, Mike Modano.  At 40 years old, the Livonia, Michigan native is not the spry, dynamic young mulleted wunderkind he was when the North Stars drafted him 1st Overall in 1988.  His production has steadily declined the last 3 seasons.  Here are his numbers since 2007-08.

2007-08 ~ 82GP  21G 36A = 57pts  48 PIM’s

2008-09 ~ 80GP  15G 31A = 46pts  46 PIM’s

2009-10 ~ 59GP  14G 16A = 30pts  22 PIM’s

He has played his entire career (16 seasons) with the Minnesota North Stars / Dallas Stars organization and he is the all-time leading scorer amongst American-born players with 557 goals, and 1,359 career points.  Yet his tenure with the organization is over after Dallas Stars GM and former teammate Joe Nieuwendyk said they have decided to part ways with Modano.  After this announcement the speculation fest has only intensified as free agency has been remarkably quiet, and experts seem to have narrowed it down to Detroit, San Jose, Anaheim and Minnesota.  However this field shrunk a bit as NHL.com reported that Detroit has made its offer but said it can only happen if he’s willing to join the team for the right price and by Ken Holland‘s reaction it did not sound like Modano liked what he saw to return to his hometown and play for the Red Wings.  That again places Minnesota again as a possible destination for the 40-year old center.  Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher said he would love to have Mike Modano in the Wild lineup and that they believe he would really help the team.  Like Detroit the Wild have a similar amount of cap space to work with, at $54.2 million committed to 20 players according to nhlnumbers.com.  Minnesota could probably use another center, but there are other free agent forwards available who are not as old and arguably could be relied upon for more production like Alexei Ponikarovsky, Maxim Afinogenov, including centers, Jeff Hapern, Eric Belanger, and Jason Williams.  Whether the fans agree with what Fletcher said about Modano’s possible impact with the team is a whole other story.

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An intense debate has ensued on the team’s message board over at wild.com where one camp thinks it would be a splendid idea and of course the other camp that believes the team would be best served to pass on acquiring Modano’s services.  For those that agree with Fletcher, they often point out how even at 39-years of age last season that Modano scored 14 goals and feel that he could be a good example for the team’s younger players as well as adding experience.  Whereas the idea’s critics believe that the main motive behind adding Mike Modano would to be bring in a player that could perhaps be a bit of a ticket draw for nostalgic fans.  When asked about this possible motive, Fletcher vehemently denied it being a ‘PR move’ and stressed the Wild’s interest in Modano is strictly about how he can help the team win games.  Pardon me if I don’t believe that, especially coming from an organization who turned its last home game of the season into a giant Modano-tribute with video montages, a pre-game ceremony and naming him the 1st Star of the game even going so far as having him skate back out onto the ice sporting a North Stars sweater.  Honestly, what is one more PR scheme when you already had a rather large ceremony for an opposing player just because he started his NHL career in Minnesota?

To go back to the nostalgic 1980’s theme, I suggest a new campaign for the Minnesota Wild to announce.  One that I remember vividly as a kid growing up; Nancy Reagan‘s “Just Say No” campaign.  I am not talking about the Wild promoting some anti-drug campaign like the one she proposed back in 1982, but how about a “Just say no, to Mike Modano” campagin?  It is sad to watch sports writers like “Grandpa Sports” Sid Hartmann prattle on his Sunday Sports Huddle radio show he co-hosts with Dave Mona on WCCO 830AM about how he thinks Modano can actually help the Minnesota Wild be a better team.  Other members of Minnesota media have jumped on the Mike Modano bandwagon but is it really about them believing this player will improve the Wild and help them win more games or because they’re thinking about that plucky smiling teenager whom the North Stars drafted 1st Overall and wanting a cheesy sports story they can always go back to as the team struggles in a very difficult Western Conference?  A 40-year old winger with declining production is going to allow this team to qualify for the playoffs?  I doubt it.

Just for a moment let’s entertain the idea of Modano coming back.  For one, it would be a huge slap in the face of a state who Modano bashed as the Stars left for Dallas, and then later when he was 30 when he questioned whether NHL hockey could succeed in Minnesota.  In some of his statements back in 1993, he bashed the women of Minnesota calling them “bucktoothed and fat.”  So this is the guy we want to bring back to the State of Hockey?  Clearly the organization has either ignored or forgotten what Modano said in the past as Chuck Fletcher sounded almost giddy as he talked on Sports Huddle this Sunday about the possibility of adding him to the Wild’s roster.  So if the Wild were to add him, would he really want to be a forechecker as the 3rd line center?  I don’t think a 40-year old center is going to want to crash and bash along the boards for pucks which is the traditional role of a team’s 3rd line, i.e. the energy line.  Some believe he’d be better than Kyle Brodziak, and offensively its tough to argue that he could be more effective but the primary job of the 3rd line is to forecheck and be miserable to play against.  I think a 40-year old player would much rather be an offensive specialist than a player whose role each shift is to muck and grind.

One thing that has been consistent throughout this organization’s first nine seasons, is the enormous pride and obsession with reminding the league as well as its own fans of the consecutive sellout streak which currently stands at 408 games and counting which is currently the longest in the NHL.  Impressive yes, but some dispute that legitimacy claim as there clearly were more and more empty seats visible during Wild games.  Either way, it is not quite a secret that ticket sales, especially the renewal of season ticket sales have taken a serious hit the last few seasons.  There are a variety of reasons; from the lagging economy, to fans’ general malaise about the direction of the team.  For the first time in team history the team is offering 10, 20, and 30-game season ticket packs.  That isn’t a good sign and with the team’s roster largely unchanged from last year the team’s fortunes on the ice do not seem to be likely to improve all that greatly.  So back to the Mike Modano situation, there are some fans that happen to be season ticket holders that would like to see him skate at least one season in a Wild uniform.  Some fans may even choose to purchase one of those ticket packs to watch the former North Star skate one more time for Minnesota.  To those fans I question whether they really care about the team or who is playing on it.  As a famous Minnesota-born coach once said (cough, Herb Brooks, cough) the name on the front of the jersey means a helluva lot more than the name on the back.

I myself am not a season ticket holder, but I know a lot of them as well as a few people who used to be season ticket holders.  One long-time season ticket holder who recently decided not to renew, is Christie Lasch.  I asked Christie what she thought of the want of some fans to bring in Mike Modano.  Here is she said, “If they bring him (Modano) back, I will be even happier that we decided to ditch our tickets, and it will cement the fact that will not buy any single game tickets this season.”  Ouch.  For some fans, like Wild.com’s message board poster OTH they see the Wild’s interest almost as an act of desperation as they said, “Just a few days ago Modano said it himself, its either Detroit or retirement.  Fletcher is wasting his time.”  Yet its not all criticism on the message boards, as poster WildComeBack said, “I don’t know that I can say that Mo wouldn’t produce better numbers than that of (Casey) Wellman and (James) Sheppard. Again, I am not saying that this isn’t a grasp at straws to try to sell jerseys and tickets, but I would say objectively it would make the team better for one year with Mo, the guy probably could put up 40 to 50 points. Just saying.”  Sort of a mix, but there is an underlying level of support from this particular fan even if his belief that Modano could produce 40 to 50 points is rather overoptimistic.  However for another long-time wild.com poster, fargokman they are far more direct in their skepticism of such a move, “I really hope Fletch doesn’t give in to this – a cheap PR move, an attempt-to-fabricate some schmaltzy feel good story.”  Again, ouch.  So again I reiterate, please Wild just say no, to Mike Modano!