Mike Modano had the chance to go the Washington Capitals at the trade deadline, but turned down the trade to stay with the Dallas Stars. He has a no trade clause in his contract, and the veteran forward decided it best to stick with the team he’s been with his entire career.
From Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News:
``We talked about this a couple of months ago, and we agreed at the time that if there were teams interested, I would bring the information to Mike,’' Nieuwendyk said. ``I did that, and he decided he wanted to stay.’'
Modano said it would have felt strange to leave the team.
``Honestly, I just couldn’t do it,’' he said. ``We were in pretty good shape in the playoff race, and there’s no guarantee with a new team. I’ve been with this team my whole life and I want to stay with this team.’'
It’s rare these days to see a player stick with a team for over 20 years, and even more so deciding to stay with them while passing up the chance to join a Stanley Cup contender. But you have to give credit to Mike, who says that playing for the Cup after being with a team for just a couple of months wouldn’t have been the same.
Modano has expressed interest in joining the Stars front office after he retires, and has even mentioned he’d want to be part of an ownership group that hopes to purchase the Stars this summer.