Mike Modano is a Detroit Red Wing. That’s sad.

Ilya Kovalchuk is once again a free agent. That is very, very cool.

Modano (left) played his entire 20-year career (up to this point) for one franchise—the Minnesota North Stars (four seasons) and Dallas Stars (16 seasons). He’s had a nice career including a Stanley Cup championship in 1999. He’s one of the greatest American born players of all time and in my mind his 1,359 points have to land him in the Hall of Fame sooner rather than later. When you have a career like that, why would you want to go out with another team?

What Modano should do is call Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch and say, “My bad. I think I’m going to retire a Star.” Then he should get on the phone with the Stars Media Relations Director and schedule a farewell press conference at American Airlines Center to say goodbye to the media and the fans who stood by him for 16 up-and-down seasons.

When I think of the Dallas Stars I think of Mike Modano. He has been the face of that franchise and to see him in another teams sweater is, to me, unthinkable. I call “bullshit” on you Modano and I hope that you see what a huge mistake you’ve made before training camp starts.

If you’re not sure if you’ve made the right choice I beg you to break off a call to another Mike. Mike Jordan. Ask that dude if he has any regrets about leaving the Bulls and hooking up with the Washington Wizards. We saw how well that turned out for him. If you need to reach him now he’s in his office in Charlotte, NC. The sign on the door reads, “Majority Owner, Charlotte Bobcats”.

Modano had opportunities to leave Dallas in the past. There were times when he could have easily taken more cash and went elsewhere, but he didn’t. He stayed in Big D and I always showed him respect for that. I’ve now lost a ton of that respect, Modano. Sorry, but it’s true.

This whole thing smells very similar to Ray Bourque bolting Beantown at the trade deadline, then hanging out for another year and a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche. It’s a similar tale, but a different tale. Bourque never had his name on the Cup and that was the one thing missing from his Hall of Fame career. That and the fact that the Avalanche won the Cup in that one full Rocky Mountain season. Had they not, it would have been a tarnished legacy for #77.

As I mentioned before, Modano already has his name on the Cup and the reality is that with or without Modano, the Wings aren’t going to win the Cup in 2010-11.

On the back half of this rant we have Ilya Kovalchuk (left), the ruble-lovin' Russian dude who is looking to cash in big time this summer. He thought he had it made in the shade with a fat contract from Lou Lamoriello and the New Jersey Devils, but his dreams were dashed by an arbitrator. The NHL vetoed the deal and it went to the arbitrator who saw through the smoke and mirrors and said “No way’ to the contract, thus putting Kovalchuk back on the free-agent market.

I’ve never been a fan of these long-term contracts.  This deal stank worse than the cloud of smoke blanketing Moscow right now and I’m glad the NHL called a penalty on this one.

For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, the Devils signed Kovalchuk to a 17-year, $102 million contract, which would expire when he was 44 years old. Triggering the NHL warning bells was the fact that the contract was completely front loaded, meaning that $95 million of the $102 would be paid in the first ten years of the contract and the remaining seven million over the last seven seasons.

I generally respect Lamoriello as a GM and in fact I’ve chatted with him several times in both the Ducks and Sabres press boxes, including this past January, just before the Olympics. I’m not sure what got into Lou to even make him think about inking Kovie to this kind of a deal, but whatever it was, I’d like a hit or two.

Whatever happened to the old days when teams paid a player what he was worth and when they signed players to realistic four or five year deals? Is there anyone, short of a Wayne Gretzky or Gordie Howe who is worth more than four or five seasons at a time? I don’t think so.

I hope that Kovalchuk comes down off his high horse and sees himself for what he really is—the leading scorer in the NHL since 2001-2 and a great player who deserves to be paid, but not paid like the type of contract the Devils offered. No one is.

After all this ranting and raving, my message is actually a simple one:

Lou Lamoriello—Nancy Reagan had it right. Just say no.

Ilya Kovalchuk—Look in the mirror and see yourself for who you are—a great player, but nowhere near the level of a Gretzky or a Howe.

Mike Modano—Don’t tarnish your career by playing in the Motor City, or anywhere else not named Dallas. With free agency and the CBA, players don’t get the opportunity to play their whole career in one city or for one franchise. Do the right thing and retire now as a Dallas Star.

Other late-career flame-outs

Brett Hull signed a two-year deal with the Phoenix Coyotes before the 2004-5 season. That season was nullified by the lockout and when he resumed play in 2005 he played just five games, tallying one point before retiring on October 15, 2005.

Luc Robitaille played 19 seasons in the NHL, including three separate stints with the L.A. Kings. His last season was his worst as a professional—15-9-24 in 65 games.

Brian Leetch played for the New York Rangers for 16 full seasons and was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for 15 games. After that the Ranger legend played in Boston for one disappointing season—5-27-32 in 65 games before retiring.

Theoren Fleury was a legend for the Calgary Flames before a multitude of personal problems forced him out of hockey after 15 seasons. Theo tried to get his act together in Chicago during the 2003-03 season, but his 12-21-33 were not typical of his usual game and aside from last year's attempt to return, he hung up his skates, at least in the NHL. 
 

EMAIL JASON: jr@wesandjr.com

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