Dallas Stars Top 100 Players of All-Time: 20-1

Oct 3, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars former center Mike Modano is introduced before the game between the Stars and the Florida Panthers at the American Airlines Center. The Panthers defeated the Stars 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

#1 – FORWARD, MIKE MODANO

Dallas, Texas wouldn’t have a hockey team if it wasn’t for Mike Modano. The 1st overall pick in the 1988 NHL Draft to the Minnesota North Stars was an total stud, albeit for a failing, bankrupt franchise, one that would eventually reach the Metroplex in 1993.

Modano was, is, and forever will be the face of the franchise to the city of Dallas and beyond; the man whose superior skill and likeable attitude put DFW on the hockey map. Modano netted 50 goals in 1993-94, a mark nit since reached by a fellow Star.

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Growing up in Livonia, Michigan, Modano ate, drank, and breathed hockey, earning himself a spot on the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League. At only 17 years of age, Modano put up 47 goals and 80 assists in 65 WHL games, which prompted the North Stars to use the number-one overall selection on fresh-faced, teenaged “Mo.”

The American forward notched 310 points as a North Star before the organization crumbled and shifted to Dallas, where Modano would reach his full potential. Over the next 16 years, the seven-time NHL All-Star would break or set almost every record imaginable for Dallas, with milestone after milestone in succession.

Modano would finish with 80 or more single-season points and within the top-20 of Hart Trophy voting six times. The two-time Olympian is first in Dallas Stars games played (1,142), goals (464), assists (616), points (1,050), points per game (0.92), and basically anything else.

Modano racked up a Playoff-high 18 assists in the 1999 Stanley Cup run for the Dallas Stars, backing up his 37 goals and 44 regular season helpers. Over his Dallas career, Modano played in 176 Playoff games and had 146 points (58 goals, 88 assists) to show for his dynamic play.

Next: Dallas Stars Top 100: Players 30-21

In an era dominated by the heroic centermen of Steve Yzerman or Joe Sakic, Modano was never forgotten, earning an induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Modano had a short, 40-game stint with his hometown Red Wings in 2010-11, but afterwards signed a one-day contract with Dallas to retire as a Star.

Mike Modano is the greatest Dallas Star of all-time. Case closed.