Stargazing: Mandy Modano's Parting Shot
by Brad Gardner on Aug 8, 2010 11:21 AM CDT
in Dallas Stars News
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Print5 weeks and 5 days remain until the officials start of 2010 Dallas Stars Training Camp. (The Traverse City tournament will actually kick things off a little before that.) 5 more weeks to bare the dullest part of the off-season, and yet we still have news. Between Tom Hicks, Marty Turco, Mike Modano and a variety of other items, the has been one "newsy" summer, and we hope it continues for a little while longer as we deal with these 107 degree days in Texas.
For some reason, Mike felt it necessary to convey some of his wife's private comments...
Modano told reporters in Detroit on Friday at the news conference to announce his signing of a one-year contract with the Red Wings that Mandy Modano, who goes by the stage name Willa Ford, wants her husband to play well in part to show the Stars they were wrong to let him go. "I think it was more so on my wife's radar than anything. She wanted me to go play, and especially in Detroit, to kind of shove it up everybody's ... you know," Modano told reporters. "That was her precise words, and she felt it was a great opportunity to do that in Detroit and loved the Red Wings and knew it was one of our rivals. She felt going in there and having the chance to play with good players was a real good opportunity." The Dallas Morning News has more. Count the red flags there. She especially wanted him to go to Detroit for the very reason we all do not. To shove it everybody's....? "She loved the Red Wings?"
So she's essentially the devil standing over his shoulder attempting to sew discord between Mike and the Stars organization? It's a good thing Mike has a level head on his shoulders and knows this about hockey.
After the jump, Adam Burish, James Neal, Jack Campbell, and odds on who'll win the Stanley Cup next year...
Mike Heika has a real nice, lengthy profile on Adam Burish. Here's a small excerpt:
Burish adds a right-handed shot, and that's a good thing. He also adds a defensive presence, and that's a good thing. He's a fast skater and a physical player. I wouldn't expect too much help from Burish in the faceoff circle. He is a 41.4 percent faceoff guy over 417 career draws. He will add a right-handed element at key times, but he is like a lot of guys on the Stars in that he has some work to do on faceoffs.
Burish isn't going to save the Stars, but he's another move in which the Stars are going to take a bit of risk to see if they can get more out of a player than his other team did. That's what you have to do when you're on a budget like the Stars.
Check out the whole thing at the DMN.
James Neal is spending his weekend in Plymouth, Michigan...
Dallas Stars forward James Neal is one of several former Plymouth Whalers returning to Compuware Arena for today's Alumni Score for Autism charity hockey game.
Neal, from Whitby, Ontario, scored 27 goals and 65 points for the Whalers in 2006-07 when they won the Ontario Hockey League championship and played in the Memorial Cup. He had 24 goals and 37 points in 77 games as an NHL rookie in 2008-09 and had 27 goals and 55 points in 78 games last season for the Dallas Stars.
Neal spoke to Free Press sports writer George Sipple about the Whalers, why he's coming back for the alumni game, and what he thinks about the changes the Stars made in the off-season...
I included that last little tease because I think it's funny. It says "about the changes the Stars made in the off-season..." The only thing he asked him about was Modano leaving.
Mr. Stepneski of ADSP has been doing a great job keeping up with the Stars prospects at their various national development camps. Here is what he had to say about Jack Campbell's weekend...
Stars goaltending prospect Jack Campbell stopped 14 of 17 shots in the USA’s 8-3 win over Finland in the final game at the USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid.
The USA fell behind 3-1 and then rattled off seven unanswered goals. The game recap is here.
Including intrasquad contests, Campbell played in five games at the camp, which ended on Saturday. He had a 4-0-0 record with a 3.15 goals against average and a .869 save percentage.
Bodog, always looking to ruin your life by getting you addicted to online gaming (no joke either, I've seen it happen) has odds on Cup favorites for next year. Look at the pack the Stars lead...
Carolina Hurricanes -- 50/1
Dallas Stars -- 50/1
Toronto Maple Leafs -- 60/1
Atlanta Thrashers -- 66/1
Columbus Blue Jackets -- 66/1
Florida Panthers -- 66/1
Edmonton Oilers -- 75/1
Minnesota Wild -- 75/1
New York Islanders -- 75/1
Take that! Uhh...Blue Jacket fans...?
Meanwhile, "across the pond", as they say, Tom Hicks continues his scheming and conniving whilst getting rid of another sports franchise...[Goal.com]
Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are ready to become unlikely boardroom allies in a bid to sell the club to Syrian businessman Yahya Kirdi.
According to The Sunday Mirror, the two Americans are ready to join forces to back Kirdi's £600 million plan to take over at Anfield.
Hicks and Gillett have had a tense relationship since they took over the club back in 2007, resulting in a breakdown in communications and the pair refusing to discuss the future of the club with one another.
However, they had been forced into a reconciliation following a bid from Chinese businessman Kenneth Huang which would see his Sportscorp China Ltd group purchase the club and its reported £237 million debts, leaving the current owners with a small profit.
The sale of Liverpool looked unlikely just weeks ago as Hicks said he could afford to wait and wait for the right price, and now it seems to be accelerating to the point where it will happen before the sale of the Stars. How did we get left in the dust here?
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When a person...
That has no knowledge of hockey whatsoever says something, I don’t listen. For all I care she can take her no talent havin’ ass and go back to living in Britney Spears, Pink, and Mandy Moore’s shadows. Love you Mo, we’ll see you Oct. 14th, you’re the only Dead Wing I’d ever root for.
I don't blame Mandy.
I just think she said what Modano himself felt and was too graceful to actually say. Mo has every right to want to shove it up the Stars’ arse. Hicks and the team promised him a long time ago that Mike would be able to leave on his own terms, and that didn’t happen. I feel no anger toward Mo and his wife. Just remorse and disappointment.
Here's to all us girls who love hockey...and the men who play it.
by Brad_Richards_Rocks on Aug 8, 2010 12:32 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
+1
This is what happens when you handle it how they did. I said it as soon as Nieuwendyk held that stupid press conference. No class. If they hadn’t done that I bet Modano walks away from the game content and now his career is going to end tarnished in a red and white #90 jersey.
"Success is never ending, failure is never final."
Gutless
So if that’s what Modano felt, why did he decide to throw his wife under the bus and not take the heat himself?
Because he's Mike Modano.
He can’t say things like that, and he knows it. I don’t blame him for hiding behind his wife in this one. It’s gutless, but Mo has a reputation to uphold.
Here's to all us girls who love hockey...and the men who play it.
by Brad_Richards_Rocks on Aug 9, 2010 9:01 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
So here's what bothers me about the whole thing ...
Mandy said this to Mike privately. I can see where as a wife she’d be pissed off at the Stars. heck the things I’ve said about Doug Armstrong about the Arnott trade and I am not married or related to either Nieuwy or Lags. I get that. What I don’t get is why Mike decided to publicly say what was probably a private conversation he had with his wife. If that’s how you feel too Mike, then own it – don’t hide behind your wife. And I am sure he does feel that way. It’s hard when a team tells you they don’t want you any more.
But part of me can’t help but wonder if Mike had shown some of this intensity, emotion, anger, desire to play, would there have been a place for him with the Stars? For example, the Stars are more than willing to let Jere Lehtinen take his time to decide if he wants to play anymore. Now I know it’s a tough comparison, right handed shot, right winger, but Jere’s production was nearly half of Mike’s. But what Joe likes about Lehts is his work ethic.
For as long as I can remember, people have questioned Mike’s work ethic at times. I saw two good games for Mike last year, the last two of the season. If that’s the kind of push he needs to play for the Stars, then I think it was time for him to move along. Mike Heika even commented in an article that he’s been a grump in the locker room for a few years.
We all know Mike speaks from his heart and it’s gotten him in trouble before. I’ve usually respected that about him. I just wish from a fan’s perspective, this once, he could’ve just talked about how excited he was to play in his hometown, where it all started and even talk about how it was nice to be wanted WITHOUT talking about shoving it up the Stars _ and how doing it with one of the Stars biggest competitors would be all that sweeter. It would’ve made seeing Mike in that red sweater look better.
I think Turco has a much better reason for being pissed at the Stars – you’re replacement brought in during the middle of the season and having to for all intents and purposes be his back up – and wanting to stick it to them and yet we haven’t heard this kind of talk from him.
Anyway this post is much longer than I wanted it to be. Sorry.
Proud fan of the #1 college hockey team in the nation - Miami University Redhawks - The Brotherhood. RIP Brendan Burke.
Yeah it was pretty passive-aggressive by Mike to drop that quote.
"Hey... Goldberg! I bet if that puck was a cheeseburger, you'd stop it!
Not sure why you're upset with Mandy
Wouldn’t you want your wife/woman/spousal equivalent to support you in what you do? Anyone who has followed Mike knows he says what he is thinking, and let’s face it, he’s more a pretty face than a rocket scientist. What Mandy said in private should have been kept in private.
I love Modano, but as the great Herb Brooks said, “The name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the name on the back.” I hope Mike scores lots, but not against the Stars.
It doesn't matter where she said it
The point is that she is as ignorant as everyone else is…the Stars letting him go had absolutely nothing to do with thinking that he “can’t do it any more.”
They know he can still do it. We know he can still do it. He knows he can still do it. That wasn’t the point.
If she wants him to prove the Stars wrong, then he’s going to have to show, in one season in Detroit, that the next MANY MANY years of Tom Wandell and Jamie Benn’s development isn’t worth this next season without Mike Modano. Because THAT was the point.
Call me crazy, but I don’t think he’s going to be able to disprove that.
Mandy Modano knows how this all works
Afterall, she works in the film and music industry. I’m guessing she’s been passed over before for roles she really wanted.
And there were probably a number of reasons that went into those decisions.
Bottom line is Mike Modano’s been healthy the last two years, playing at the level we thought he’d be playing at, at this age.
And the Stars still missed the playoffs by a wide margin each year.
Their problems, primarily the lack of a pair of solid defensemen, are too big for Modano to cover up. And his presence on the team was holding up the development of the younger kids on this team.
The guys who, when the Stars do get back to the status as a contender, will be in their primes while Modano will be on the golf course and enjoying retirement.
Defending Big D - Analysis and banter on the Dallas Stars
Dear Buffalo, the goal still counts.
You're kidding, right?
And his presence on the team was holding up the development of the younger kids on this team.
Did he hold up the developement of James Neal?
Did he hold up the developement of Jamie Benn?
If anyone is taking a spot from a talented rookie, it’s Chris Barch!
No, I'm not
Does Krys Barch play center?
Defending Big D - Analysis and banter on the Dallas Stars
Dear Buffalo, the goal still counts.
And for the record
I didn’t support the Barch signing, either.
But that’s another kettle of fish.
Defending Big D - Analysis and banter on the Dallas Stars
Dear Buffalo, the goal still counts.
Tom Wandell and Jamie Benn were being held up by his presence.
Now that he’s gone, they can develop….but as I mentioned in my post yesterday, both can’t play center at once, so Crawford has some line decisions to make.
In any case, Modano’s departure is a good thing for them.
You keep bringing up Neal...
Not once has Neal ever been mentioned as a guy that’s been “held back”. No, the person he affects the most is Tom Wandell, and that’s fact.
There’s also the young centers on their way up. Gagnon. Sceviour.
No one has said Neal. Neal isn’t a center.
One of the last Joe Nieuwendyk supporters in Dallas....
Defending Big D - Dallas Stars news & analysis; SB Nation Dallas-Fort Worth
by Brandon Worley on Aug 8, 2010 4:37 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Neal isn't a center,
but I bet he gets more PP time this year with Modano gone.
It just sucks....
I can respect the fact Mike still wants to play, and how he might have some ill feelings towards the team. But the fact is, a huge reason why he is playing this season is because Detroit is a contender. if Dallas had of offered him a contract I think he may have just decided to hang it up anyways, or he would have been the same half effort lack of passion player we have seen the past few years because of the teams struggles.
I think this was a loose-loose situation for GM Joe, but he choose to make the hard decision that made him look bad, but was better for the team.
I can't wait
until we stop talking about Mo – as wonderful as he is – and start talking about the young kids, who are the future of this team.
Five weeks and five days can’t come soon enough.
Mandy only voiced what a lot of us are feeling!
Mike Modano gave everything he had for the Dallas Stars.
He gave up a lot of offensive production to become the two-way player they needed.
He gave up part of his salary to help Hicks land some high-dollar UFAs.
He gave up better offers from better teams (Chicago) and gave his loyalty to the Stars.
Then the Stars shut the door in his face!
Mandy Modano said what many of us feel; the Dallas Stars dishonored their loyalty to Mike Modano.
Was he that bad in his “old” age?
He scored seven time as many goals last season that Chris Barch!
He was the eighth highest scorer on the Stars team last year.
He ranked 189th of 580 forwards in the NHL last year! (that’s top one third!)
Was he really all that bad? He didn’t hamper the advancement of talented rookies like Benn and Neal.
Who can blame Mandy Modano for being bitter! Not me.
The Dallas Stars had the most prolific American born scorer in the history of the NHL . . .
and they couldn’t make a place for him one more year?
GM Joe really screwed up on this one!
Clearly
Some people are hockey fans, while others are simply Modano fans.
I’m tired of this sentiment driven crap. We shouldn’t give him a contract just because, and if Joe had done that instead of having the balls to do what is right for the team going forward, then I’d be saying “GM Joe really screwed up on this one!”.
by JCWM2 on Aug 8, 2010 4:44 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Clearer Words Were Never Spoken..
on this issue at least. The problem is a lot of people are viewing this the same way they view the ‘99 cup team. They gave us great memories that will last a lifetime and for longtime fans we all have that “I remember when….” its that way with the team its that way with Modano. People that hang onto and live in the past will never be able to have success in the future. If Modano was putting up 25-30 goals in the fun and gun system of Crawford (compared to the “glory days” of Hitchcock) I would say okay let him go one more year. The fact is in an open ice league in an open ice system Modano is putting up even worse numbers than he did in the clutch and grab defense first days of the 90s. Is it worth cutting the minutes of Benn, Wandell and delaying the futures of other young centers on a guy who isn’t just on the downside of his career he is about to roll to a complete stop? I don’t think so.
That was probably best left on the pillow.
Unfortunately, the enthusiastic comments of a supportive wife become such news in these the dog days of the hockey summer. This whole transaction and everything said and written about it will unfortunately be our ping pong ball untill the Stars make some news of their own.
That and, the truth hurts.
I don’t think that the Stars are that far off, but she wouldn’t be the first in this town to think that the grass was greener in Detroit – and it’s hard to argue that, right now.
It could be worse, all the Leafs have to read about this summer is adding a couple of stripes to their jerseys. ;-)
If anyone wants to have a completely ignorant discussion
Check out this bleacher report post
Discussing why Mike Modano isn’t a Star anymore without the words “Benn” or “Wandell” appearing on the whole page… This is why the BR continues their proud tradition of bringing you crap after uninformed crap.
I love how they say "Crawford's plan."
He doesn’t have that much influence, does he?
Here's to all us girls who love hockey...and the men who play it.
by Brad_Richards_Rocks on Aug 8, 2010 5:22 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
I can see both sides here
On the one hand, I don’t blame Mandy at all for saying what she did. Especially if she still thinks Mo’s got it and feels like the team should have given him another chance. I’m sure in her eyes, he was still the best player for the Stars last year and if only he’d still been captain, they’d have won it all.
On the other hand, it is pretty passive aggressive for Mo to say this and it really says a lot about him as a person. If you’re a young player and you idolize Mo and he openly talks crap like that about the organization, are you likely to happily play the system and do your best every day? Remember when there was all this talk about the Stars not playing as a team?
And we wonder why they removed the C?
I’m betting this attitude has been going on for a while and Joe was the only one with guts enough to fix the problem.
And by the way...
Why is everyone so high up on the Wings this season? Did they make some amazing trade that I missed?
Last I checked, Lidstrom is looking slower and older, and Brad Stuart and Brian Rafalski looked decent but not amazing. Then you’ve got Osgood, Holmstrom and Draper nearing the end of their careers. Not to mention Modano. Howard looks capable but still questionable.
Where is this huge Cup contender? Are they appreciably better than last year? Do they even have any LWers?
They still win an awful lot of games by throwing pucks in from the blue line and hoping they bounce off someone. That may have worked a few years ago but I don’t see them getting far in the playoffs this year.
So over this...
never thought I’d see the day where I’m absolutely sick and tired of hearing/reading anything about the man who got me interested in hockey (Modano) but here it is…
I never questioned why the C was removed, I always questioned why they bestowed it upon him to begin with. Michael, for all his skill, has never been able to consistently motivate HIMSELF to play to the levels needed…how in the hello can he do so for the entire squad? Yeah uh NO. They gave it because it was expected because he was Mike Modano.
I don’t blame Joe for what he had to do. I don’t blame Mandy for venting (remember, this is the same woman who had no idea who Mike was when they met). I have long since given up any delusions of Mike doing anything other than what Mike wants.
He’s a great guy, don’t get me wrong…I’m just…well, over him. Good luck this season, Mo but I certainly won’t be cheering for you…
**Proof SOME rules are meant to be broken**
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