Mike Modano

[VM1138 1,921]

God, what a bunch of *******.

He's 41. He's just being honest. Obviously still has the desire to play, but is uncertain if he really wants everything that goes with it and he's willing to accept retirement. Essentially the same things Lidstrom has been saying the past two years.

You're just pissy because things didn't go well here.

No, not even close. And nobody is pissy. The point is not that Modano is unsure about whether he should retire, but that he put in very little effort here even when healthy, showed lack of heart when he basically gave up on the playoffs before they began (again, like others have said, Babcock didn't bench him for the fun of it), and in this article basically says he's done unless someone tosses him a freebie. With Modano he simply doesn't have any desire. Show me where Lidstrom ever said he's done unless someone tosses him a nice contract and won't expect too much from him (essentially).

So in review, it's not that he's considering retirement, it's that he is showing absolutely no drive and it'd be pretty silly for anyone to waste cap space on him at this point. When you're debating retirement you have to at least sound like part of you wants to still play.

[PavelValerievichDatsyuk 1,935]

With all that went wrong with Modano this year I think his lackluster play and his reactions to the year are quite understandable if you try to imagine yourself in his place.

[VM1138 1,921]

With all that went wrong with Modano this year I think his lackluster play and his reactions to the year are quite understandable if you try to imagine yourself in his place.

I understand his frustration, but not his lackadaisical attitude toward his own career. Go back to last summer (when even I was a fan of Modano coming here) and remember all the things Dallas fans said about him? Lack of heart was one of the biggest complaints they had. His behavior is a trend (maybe just a recent one), not simply a reaction to his injury plagued year.

[Konnan511 1,736]

If he had a lack of heart, he would have announced his retirement as soon as his injury, or complained publicly about being benched in the playoffs.

[Buppy 1,720]

No, not even close. And nobody is pissy. The point is not that Modano is unsure about whether he should retire, but that he put in very little effort here even when healthy, showed lack of heart when he basically gave up on the playoffs before they began (again, like others have said, Babcock didn't bench him for the fun of it), and in this article basically says he's done unless someone tosses him a freebie. With Modano he simply doesn't have any desire. Show me where Lidstrom ever said he's done unless someone tosses him a nice contract and won't expect too much from him (essentially).

So in review, it's not that he's considering retirement, it's that he is showing absolutely no drive and it'd be pretty silly for anyone to waste cap space on him at this point. When you're debating retirement you have to at least sound like part of you wants to still play.

I disagree. I didn't see any lack of effort. Nor do I see his comments then and now the same way. I think you have a low opinion of him because the season didn't work out, and that opinion is coloring your interpretation of his comments.

"I don't think I've completely shut the door on that,"

"I'll think about it the first two weeks of July, see if anybody calls. If not, then I'll say that's it. But it depends where and with whom -- what the opportunity is."

"you think about how you want one more shot at it, one more chance, how you want to go through that experience again. It would be fulfilling."

"I'm going to take my time and really consider what I'm going to do,"

"I'm still healthy but, to me, it's more motivation."

"For me, it's just finding that motivation to go through that off-season training and get ready for another year,"

[eva unit zero 271]

Mike Modano: 2GP, 1 point, +1

Hudler: 10 GP, 3 points, -1

Abdelkader: 11GP, -4

He should have been in over Hudler the entire playoffs. He looked fast and smooth out there and a lot better than Hudler.And he didn't take a single penalty in his two games unlike Abdelkader, who seemed to be playing "let's see us kill a powerplay with under five minutes left and us up by one" game.

Let's flip that around. How many points would Hudler have scored on Datsyuk's line? Modano scored one point on a play he had nothing to do with. I'm sure Hudler could have put up a few given that he actually WAS contributing offensively. Abdelkader's penalties were a big negative for the team, and I wondered why he wasn't taken out for a game, maybe playing a third line role with Flip and Bert/Homer or something.

But of all the forwards who played for the Wings this season, Modano was the least effective. Even the kids on their call ups had an impact in a small period of time. Modano had a few good moments packed into the whole season, but was otherwise useless. Modano had been playing top-six minutes and PP to start the year, and was all the way down to a healthy scratch in the playoffs. There are reasons for these things.

[VM1138 1,921]

Modano didn't hurt the team, so it's not like anyone has a right to be upset with him or anything. I'm not criticizing him out of disappointment for his season. He simply did not put in an effort. He never hurt the team, but never helped, either. He rode the coattails of everyone working hard around him. His stats were not as good as people try to make them be, and Hudler, like it or not, was a much more effective player. What we saw is what Modano has to give nowadays, injury or not.