Mike Modano should and will get in the Hall. His longevity and career numbers fit Hall of Fame standards. And from about 1996-97 to 2002-03, he was just a dominant two-way player, among the league's best.
During that time, he:
1. Was the best player on a perennial Stanley Cup contender, two-time finalist, and one-time winner.
2. At even strength, mostly matched up against the opposing team's best players*, and won. Dallas's GF/GA ratio was 1.65 with him on the ice and 1.08 with him off the ice. He had quality linemates in Lehtinen, Hull, and others, but Modano was clearly the man on that line.
3. Was among the top 4 penalty killing forwards every year, and twice led forwards in SHTOI, for a Dallas team that had the second best penalty kill in the league over this time.
4. Was the leading forward** in power play points on the fourth best power play in the league over this time.
5. Highest scoring American, which may make the difference in why he will get in. IMO he should be in regardless for his play on the ice.
This.
As others have noted, I can't believe there are people who still don't think he should be in the HHOF.
His pure offensive numbers during his 1996-2003 peak don't 'look' that dominant, but the fact of the matter is that he was a flat out dominant player during that period.
A guy finishing 10th in scoring while being a top-5 defensive forward in the league (which is what Modano was doing most of those years) is a flat-out dominant player.
Unfortunately, people who look at pure statistics as a measure of 'dominance' will rate a guy who had 10 more points than Modano did but were mediocre defensive players as better players than Modano.
Modano wasn't truly elite offensively or defensively, but became elite by being only a half-step away on both counts.
He was also hurt by having his most productive years right in the heart of the dead-puck era, so that guys from the 1980s who had a few 100-point seasons 'look' better offensively despite being much worse when you look at adjusted stats.
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In any case, the guy is a dead first-ballot lock.
- career value? Played for 22 years, 1300+ career points, important player for more than 2 decades.
- peak value? Absolutely, had a stretch of several seasons where he was a top-10 player in the sport. Probably the best two-way center in the league for about 5 years during his prime.
- team success? Leading scorer on a Cup winner, three 20-point playoffs, 3x Cup Finalist. Also one of the most important guys on the 1996 US World Cup team.
- anything else? Well, yeah. Hugely important figure to his country in international play, highest-scoring US-born player in NHL history. Most important player in the history of the Dallas Stars/Minnesota North Stars franchise. Was an exciting player to watch who played the game the way it was meant to be played.
Was also a class act both on and off the ice who probably deserved a Lady Byng or two if it was awarded properly instead of to the guy with the best points to PIM ratio. Does anyone actually think that the people who created that award would have wanted a one-way floater/soft player with 10 PIM like Pavol Demitra to win over a two-way force like Modano who put up 40 PIM playing a super-involved game?
The only people who don't think Modano should be in the HHOF are people who a) haven't escaped from 1985 and don't think putting up 80 points in the post-1995 world is elite offensive play, and b) only look at offense when looking at HHOF credentials.
Modano had (easily) a better career and was a better player than Gilbert Perreault or Darryl Sittler. Pretty damned obvious he's a HHOF lock.
