If legendary Stars forward Mike Modano decides to keep playing next season it is a matter that the Dallas Stars will not be concerning themselves with. The Stars announced today that they will not be offering Mike Modano a new contract. Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk had this to say about the matter:
“Mike is unclear on whether he will retire or not, and still may decide to play next season. After assessing our roster and where we need to go as a hockey team, we have decided to not offer Mike a contract and allow him to explore free agency on July 1. If Mike decides that he would like to play with another team, we support his wishes. That’s part of the reason behind the timing of this announcement; we wanted to be up-front with Mike and give him the option to explore playing for other clubs on July 1 if he chooses.”
“We have a good number of young guys who are hungry and ready for bigger roles on our team. That’s a big part of this decision. These players are ready to step up and play important minutes. We need them to continue their improvement and development if we are to get to where we want to be as a hockey club.”