Sunday, September 6, 2015

Mike Modano Jersey Card

Now a member of the Hockey Hall Of Fame, Mike Modano currently stands as the all-time goals and points leader among American-born players in the NHL. He spent all but one season with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise, save for a final go-round for his hometown Detroit Red Wings.

He was never a leading scorer and is thin on hardware (save for the 1999 Stanley Cup), but for most of his career, he finished with Selke, Lady Byng, and Hart Trophy votes, and was a Second Team All-Star in 2000, in addition to playing in 7 All-Star Games (once as team captain), making the All-Rookie Team in 1990, and suiting up for Team USA 11 times, winning one gold (1996 World Cup) and one silver medal (2002 Olympics), as well as a runner-up position at the 1991 Canada Cup. It's easily understandable why he was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

He finished his NHL career at nearly a point-per-game pace (1374 points in 1499 games, plus 146 points in 176 playoff games) and also had a decent showing internationally, with 41 points in 57 games playing for the United States.

He also captained the Stars from 2003 until 2006, until management decided to pass the mantle onto Brenden Morrow - a decision I disagreed with, at the time, and still do; in my opinion, he remains the face of the franchise in Dallas to this day, and he uses that title in his current role as a team ambassador, attracting sponsors and business partners.

And so it's fitting that I feature him not just wearing the Stars' uniform, but their best and most memorable one, the star-shaped green and black jersey, on a card featuring two black game-worn jersey swatches, from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Artifacts collection:
It's a variant of card #66, and is numbered 50/125.

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