I don’t like the guy very much, being a bigger fan of Jeremy Roenick, and I always thought he was a crybaby (Lady Modano) with his bitching about the coaches at the 2006 Olympics. However, I feel it was a shame that Dallas wouldn’t retain him for one more season after all he did to put the Stars on the map. On the other hand, his time playing with the Red Wings made sense since he grew up in Michigan; every kid from that area wants to be on Gordie’s team.
The stunt Modano and the Stars did was fine with me. He began with them while they were the Minnesota North Stars (what we used to call the NoStars at the Milwaukee Sentinel) and made the move to Dallas through a special re-entry draft. How he and Yzerman managed to stay with one team for so long was amazing in this climate; many other great players were traded in their careers: Gretzky (four), Orr (two) and Howe (three).
What’s next for him? Probably a front-office gig with the Stars to accompany his time enjoying his offensive records as an American. I give it at least a generation before another Yankee comes close to matching his accomplishments in goals, assists and points as he did with Housely and Mullen.