12/18/24
September 30, 2006
Morrow named Stars' captain: It's the start of a new era in Dallas.
posted by wingnut4life to hockey at 04:30 AM - 14 comments
I think the move overall is a good one however I wonder what effect it will have on the team as a whole IF Modano gets very negative over this. It could be like that guy at the office who is burned out and feels wronged by the company, always negative and jades the others with it. Not saying it will happen but pro sports egos can be dangerous because of there size.
posted by firecop at 09:56 AM on September 30, 2006
This morning on TSN, the talking heads also said Modano had some pretty severe financial difficulties which bogged him down in the past year or two. Whatever the case, Morrow is the kind of guy I'd want as a captain -- loud, chippy and a grinder. Modano's none of those. That's not a knock on Mike. It's just the truth.
posted by wfrazerjr at 10:02 AM on September 30, 2006
Mo never really should've been captain in the first place. I think the Stars just kind of panicked after Derian Hatcher left and slapped the C on the sweater of the face of the franchise. Morrow makes a *lot* more sense, but I hope any good that comes out of giving him the distinction isn't outweighed by loss in Modano's play. It's especially got to hurt after a pretty damn stellar year.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:49 AM on September 30, 2006
I am sure this is the right thing to do. Mike Modano is a great player but he didn't have the personality to be captain. Many of us in Big D were surprised when he was named captain last year.Dallas' first round exit in the playoffs must have played in the decision. Morrow will be a good leader.
posted by sickleguy at 01:33 PM on September 30, 2006
Well, to be fair, if there is no clear-cut choice for the C, giving it to the face of the team is not generally the worst thing you can do until someone steps forward. Modano's not (far as I know) a bad guy, who's had a Hall-of-Fame caliber career (his stats are fine, and I think being US-born will put him over the top on that front). Mike Modano has nothing to hang his head about here, and I hope he contines doing his thing, which is pretty damn good. Good on Morrow. I wish them well.
posted by chicobangs at 02:05 PM on September 30, 2006
I'm a little surprised - usually captains like Modano with such a long tenure don't just lose the C while they're still on the team, but it seems he hasn't done himself any favours. Whether this is a motivating thing, or something that pushes him into resentment will be interesting to watch. He's approaching some significant milestones this year. And yes, he's a likley HoFer. I like Morrow, but he isn't anything close to the player Modano is. Not that is the end all and be all of captaincy. The Stars don't look so shit hot. I think they struggle to make the postseason.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 03:38 PM on September 30, 2006
I knew there was something about Morrow that has always made him a mainstay in my fantasy pools ... it's that immeasurable leadership quality. which reminds me ... i gotta stop pickin' from the heart if i wanna win this year's pool ;)
posted by Spitztengle at 03:39 PM on September 30, 2006
EEEEEnteresting:
Only one team in the history of the NHL has won the Stanley Cup with a non-Canadian captain. Mike Modano is American. Brenden Morrow is Canadian. The only problem with this little factoid...US born Derian Hatcher is that one captain. I don't think I have to give you the team that won it.
posted by Ufez Jones at 06:15 PM on September 30, 2006
Addendum, during the 2nd intermission of the Stars/Lightning game: If Lindros stays healthy and they keep the 4 together, the Morrow-Lindros-Jokinen line with Zubov in back is going to be really, really good.
posted by Ufez Jones at 08:40 PM on September 30, 2006
Only one team in the history of the NHL has won the Stanley Cup with a non-Canadian captain. Mike Modano is American. Brenden Morrow is Canadian. The only problem with this little factoid...US born Derian Hatcher is that one captain. I don't think I have to give you the team that won it. Steve Yzerman is American.
posted by tommybiden at 09:58 PM on September 30, 2006
Steve Yzerman is American. He might have citizenship in the US now, but he was born, raised and made captain of the Red Wings as a Canadian. Hence, his gold medal in Men's Ice Hockey at the 2002 Winter Olympics.
posted by grum@work at 11:08 PM on September 30, 2006
Minor point of clarification: I like the Stars and wish them well, but starting a sentence with "If Lindros stays healthy..." is like starting a sentence with "If monkeys fly out of my butt..."
posted by chicobangs at 11:34 PM on September 30, 2006
Grum, I know Steve Yzerman was born and raised in Canada, and played for our National Team, but the fact remains, he is an American citizen. All I was trying to do was correct mistaken information, without extranious verbiage.
posted by tommybiden at 09:14 AM on October 01, 2006
In reading the article, I was hoping that there would be a comment or opinion about Modano. If you check the 'Your Call' section at the bottom, a lot of people welcomed the move. I have great respect for Mike Modano as a player, but the bitching about travel plans during the Olympics kind of rubbed me the wrong way. That's when I, personally, started having different feelings about him. Maybe there's more that we don't know and I hate to speculate. Congrats to Morrow, he's a heckuva player.