Congratulations to @9modano on being elected into the @HockeyHallFame. pic.twitter.com/09jLtzn6qR
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) June 23, 2014
Former Minnesota North Stars great Mike Modano was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday. Modano was one of six individuals, including four players to receive the recognition.
Along with Modano, former players Peter Forsberg, Dominik Hasek and Rob Blake were also named to the hall of fame. Former Montreal head coach Pat Burns and former referee Bill McCreary were also named to the 2014 class.
A native of Livonia, Michigan, Modano was drafted by the North Stars first overall in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft. He stayed with the franchise for 21 of his 22 seasons in the NHL. The North Stars moved to Dallas in 1993.
In 2012, Modano was named to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
He holds the NHL record for most goals (561) and points (1,374) by an American-born player. Modano led the Stars to the Stanley Cup in 1999 and won took home a silver medal from the Olympics. According to the blog Defending Big D, Modano was voted into the hall of fame on the first ballot.
21 seasons
1499 games
561 reg season G's
813reg season A'sCongratulations to @9modano on being elected to the HHOF! pic.twitter.com/w2Fyf8PAZA
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) June 23, 2014
“When I played I always hoped that I could make an impact on the game, both on and off the ice, and this honor recognizes that,” said Modano. “I love this game and as an American born player, I owe a lot to the people in Price Albert who helped me take my game to the next level.”
Dallas retired Modano’s iconic #9 jersey in a game against the Minnesota Wild, last March.
According to the Dallas Morning News, former Stars coach Ken Hitchcock gave Modano a lot of the credit for Dallas’ 1999 Stanley Cup championship season.
“We asked him to do a lot, we asked him to check the best player on the other team, and we asked him to be our leading scorer, too,” Hitchcock said. “He had to have complete buy in, and he did. When that happened, I think that’s when we became the team that we became.”
The induction ceremony for Modano and the other new Hall of Famers will take place Nov. 14-17, in Toronto.
