What a difference a pick makes...

Trevor Linden could have ended up being the captain of the Dallas PrettyDamnGoods...

Once people get past the fact that hockey is being played in a state dominated by fantastic steak houses, BBQ, country music and oil money (oh, don’t forget the Dallas Cowboys), they actually realize that the Stars have been a fairly successful little hockey franchise.

And if you had to point to one moment that made (or conversely, could have broken) the Stars in Dallas, just look at what the then-North Stars did with their No.1 pick in 1988. After some debate, the Stars rolled the dice with little Mikey Modano instead of the safer pick of Trevor Linden.

This great article inspired such a chilling thought. You at least need to check out the second photo of Modano, who looks like an '80s teen comedy villain (I can almost hear him screaming "Daaarsh!")

Trevor Linden isn’t chopped liver either – he’s more like barbecued chicken to Mike Modano’s Texas T-Bone (boy, that sentence makes me look gay, but damn it I’m sticking by my steak analogy!!).

It’s impossible to imagine the Stars without Mike Modano.

Would they still even be in Texas if the meat-and-potatoes Linden would have been their pick?

Who would be shagging Willa Ford right now?

Could the Vancouver Canucks have been a dynasty riding high on the unfair abilities of a Modano-Bure-Mogilny line while Mark Messier and the New York Rangers still would be left hunting for that elusive Stanley Cup??

Modano is on the short list of the best American hockey players to ever lace up skates alongside Chris Chelios, Mike Richter, Jeremy Roenick and others. And the Stars are easily one of the most successful American hockey teams outside of Canada and the Northeast. There's more to the Stars success than just that draft pick, but I'd argue that only the Penguins would have been more lost without their superstar Mario Lemieux.

I shudder to think of what I would be writing about right now if not for that draft pick. (Current events…Tim Russert…Paul Pierce... ugh)

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So, what are the most important draft picks the other (or perhaps I should say, real) Battle of California teams have made?

I’d love to hear some stories of the good times and the regrettable, not-so-good times.

If I had to venture a guess it would be:

Paul Kariya (Anaheim)

Patrick Marleau (San Jose)

Luc Robitaille (LA).

But I’m all ears... Maybe we can even come to a consensus on the biggest draft-day bust of all the Battle of Californ-ee.

More Mo'

The question of Modano's future was answered quickly: he'll be around for at least one more year.

Thanks to Jes Golbez of FanHouse for highlighting this story.

Sharks vs Dallas Stars Game 5 photos

More notes and photos from the Sharks 3-2 OT win in game 5 will be up here soon. Now accepting nicknames for Joe Pavelski.

The Stars and Round Two: Reunited and it feels so good

• On the same day that Danica Patrick got the victory monkey off her hot little back, the Stars made it to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2003.

In that time, Chris Pronger came and went from the Edmonton Oilers. The NHL instituted a salary cap and left ESPN because of a horrific lockout. The Stanley Cup champions now include a team from Florida, California and frickin' North Carolina. Also, Britney Spears went absolutely, 100% batshit crazy. My oh my how times have changed…

• Stu Barnes happened to score his 10th playoff GWG. Now, I’m not going to say that makes him better than Joe Thornton.

But hot damn if #14 isn’t the closest thing the Stars have to Chris Drury.

• The Stars managed to do this without Sergei Zubov. This is something that they’re going to have to get used to, especially if Zubov ages worse than Elizabeth Taylor (by the way, I heard a rumor that he smokes about a pack of cigarettes during each intermission. If this is true, prepare to award Zubov 1,000 cool points).

• The Stars absolutely earned this series win, Marty Turco might just be regaining his University of Michigan-era crunch time swagger and Brad Richards justified his existence. You cannot ask for much more than that.

• Rudy Kelly wonders why the Stars are so successful and there are many reasons why. But if pressed for one thing that stands out about the Stars it’s that they have a collective competence that few teams can match. There aren’t many players who make me cringe when they have the puck. On the other end, the gap between Selanne's line and the Ducks' second best option is Zdeno Chara big.

Naturally, certain players excel at different things, but there really aren’t many “take away from the table” type guys on the Stars. Stu Barnes and Steve Ott are checking forwards who are beginning to demand some serious D attention; Brad Richards, Mike Modano and Mike Ribeiro provide the Stars with crucial creativity; Mattias Norstrom, Trevor Daley and Stephane Robidas sneak up on you with their unexpectedly impressive D skills.

And then opposing teams have to deal with the ball breaking effectiveness of Marty Turco’s puck handling skills.

Perhaps the BoC needs a “get to know the Stars” special. Because these guys are good.

• I think I've stumbled on a solid nickname for Brad Richards: the $5 shake. As you may remember from "Pulp Fiction," Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) orders the questionably priced shake and John Travolta is understandably skeptical. Although no shake could be worth $5, Travolta ultimately admitted that it was a "damn good shake." But not worth $5.

Richards clearly is the $5 shake. I think my work here is done...

C'mon hockey deadline...

I know the NHL trade deadline isn't up til Tuesday afternoon, but I have a feeling that this year's "frenzy" is going to be a letdown.

With Washed up Shaq, Pau Gasol and Jason Kidd dominating sports trading headlines in the last few weeks, it's hard to imagine the NHL topping the former No Balls Association this year. Still, NHL GMs could at least try to foolishly throw together panic deals for the sake of my entertainment.

Seriously, the best deal better not be the Cory Stillman to Ottawa trade. It already seems like Mats Sundin and Tomas Kaberle both did their parts in killing the fun for everyone. Now, who do we have...Mary Ann Hossa? Blargh.

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Stars beat writer Mike Heika put Hossa to Stars as something of a dream scenario, but I cannot help but disagree. Yes, Hossa's a talented player and a noted two-way player.

But he's also exactly what the Stars don't need: a great regular season performer who fades during the playoffs. It's telling enough for me that the Ottawa Senators dealt him for Dany Heatley less than two years after the death of Daniel Snyder because they didn't think Hossa deserved elite player money.

When I think of Hossa I think of Jermaine O'Neal in the NBA: a good player you don't want to pay "franchise player" money. And that's exactly what the Dallas Stars would have to do to retain Hossa.

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That Heika column made me feel a little better about my Olli Jokinen post, as he did list Olli as one of the possible guys on the trading block. I stand by my stance that, if the Stars could move enough salary to get Jokinen, he'd be an absolutely fantastic fit for this team.

Let's face it, the window is closing on the Stars. Their best players are either in their high 20s (Morrow, Ribeiro) or 30s (Good lord, I didn't know Marty Turco's almost 33 already!).

Yes, the Stars look good right now. But as I seem to remember, they looked pretty solid last year but got bumped in the first round. And remember when they got booted by the Colorado Avs that year they broke team records for wins? Yeah, they looked pretty good going into the playoffs then, too.

So, rather than being satisfied with a solid team, the Stars need to give themselves that extra push. The window is closing - Zubov and Turco aren't getting any younger. Jere and Mike are damn near dead.

The Red Wings are reeling with injuries. The Ducks have bad karma with Niedermayer and Selanne's vacations. I admit that the Sharks have a weird Stanley Cup vibe to them (to me at least), but seem beatable still. And the Wild probably won't ever really go for the glory, since those Minnesota folks will keep buying tickets regardless.

So why not try to win the Cup this year? I know Tom Hicks doesn't care much about winning anymore, but why not one more run for old Mikey Mo? Another Cup would be a nice trophy to go along with his other, uh, trophy.

The Stars should absolutely make a move.

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Also, I reached a milestone of sorts, as I think I might have made my first ever good prediction by saying that Evgeni Malkin was making a strong case for MVP consideration after he gave the LA Kings a beating. Now that he's leading the league in points, Malkin for MVP talk is gaining traction from, you know, people who aren't idiots.

Being that I make a lot of foolish predictions, this is a pretty special moment for me. Even if my point was as salient and unique as "children love candy." Feel free to shower me with Gatorade in the next week.

Consider yourselves part of irrelevant history.

Stinky-nacho face wash

I managed to hop in my car at the perfect time twice today, catching some very entertaining interviews with Brendan Morrow then Mike Modano on Dallas's irreverent sports radio station The Ticket.

The best interview goes to the Stars' (relatively) new captain, who discussed among other things marrying a teammate's sister (note: not in a seedy, Martin Brodeur kind of way) and the ancient art of face-washing.* I can't quote his statements precisely, but he said that the key was having gloves that are six (though it sounded like he said sixty) years old so they "smell nasty, like old nachos."

Morrow went on to mention that although Steve Ott probably should be the franchise's elite facewasher, "he's small so he probably doesn't sweat a lot." Apparently, according to Morrow, Jeff Halpern has the nastiest gloves, yet sadly he doesn't use them in a face-washing capacity. (Perhaps Ott and Halpern should trade mitts?)

Judging from that brief but hilarious interview, Morrow could have a future on NHL TV.

Naturally, though, I'm sure an NBC studio show would love to have the Ticket's other guest Mike Modano before just about any other hockey player. Modano was pretty entertaining in his own right, as the Ticket guys did what any knowledgeable Stars journalists must do and mocked Brett Hull's former title of Ambassador of Fun ("Ambassador of Nothing," Modano joked).

Modano ribbed Hull pretty mercilessly, saying he "thinks he's not from Canada" because he got "cut" from the national team. He went on to accuse Hull of skirting co-GM responsibilities to see Led Zeppelin in London and take a two-week trip to Hawaii.

The interview finished with some Willa Ford-related hilarity. When asked what Modano would do if Ford demanded a baby, he replied: "I'd tell her to get ready."

When pushed for more details he said, "I'd guess I'd have her assume the position."

The Stars might have ruffled a few feathers when they gave Modano's C to Morrow, but let it be known that both captains can rock a microphone. Since Modano was adamant about not playing the role of a coach or any all-day hockey job in the future, may he be a natural studio host?

My current NHL studio show dream team: Bucci, Barry Melrose, Marc Crawford and Mike Modano.

C'mon. You know that would be awesome.

* - They most likely asked him this question because of a recent New York Times article, which Eric McErlain mentioned at FanHouse.

Daydreaming about the 2008 playoffs...

After watching PJ Swenson’s great Stanley Cup interview and with the (weak) hubbub surrounding the NHL All-Star game, I couldn’t help but think to a few months from now when the games start to matter again.

With all that in mind, I thought it would be fun to conjure up the most appealing Western Conference playoff matchups that are within the realm of reason (sorry Kings and Oilers fans).

Detroit vs. Colorado

After all these years, the Red Wings still are the gold standard of the NHL and Joe Sakic is still considered the face of the former Nordiques franchise (even if this season is marred by injuries).

But chances are, at least in the case of Quoteless Joe, that the times will be changing soon enough. So wouldn’t it be nice to watch one last battle of the NHL’s greatest modern blood feud? Hell, maybe we can even get Claude Lemieux to turtle on the ice during the ceremonial first drop of the puck.

For the record, if the playoffs started today, this would be the first round pairing.

Minnesota/Columbus vs. Dallas

I lump those two teams together for a simple reason: both teams bring Ghosts of the Stars Hockey Past. The atmosphere in Minnesota when the Stars came to town during the playoffs, with former North Star (can you believe he actually skated with an N on his jersey at one point?) Mike Modano would be surreal. And that would be good, because aside from a Ribeiro deke here and a Gaborik breakaway there, the games would probably be bland enough to put Mario Lemieux in a trap induced coma.

The Columbus Blue Jackets would bring The Ghost of Stanley Cup Past in the form of former head coach Ken Hitchcock. Could the formerly mustachioed former coach lead his ragtag group of upstarts past his older, more talented former team? That would be an interesting storyline, no doubt.

Detroit vs. Vancouver

The best team in the league against the league’s best goalie…it really doesn’t get much better than that. Also: could the Sedin twins use their super secret Swedish doppelganger tricks to bedevil mechadefenseman Niklas Lidstrom? (No)

Calgary vs. San Jose

Joe Thornton vs. Jarome Iginla; Kipper vs. Nabby; Mike Keenan vs. Ron Wilson; a big, talented offense against a big, tough defense. This series would feature enough contrasting elements that people would grow ill from Irresistible Force vs. Immovable Object references.

Detroit vs. Anaheim

It would be a travesty if the best series from last year’s playoffs didn’t take place again. If I were a gambling man, I would put money on that being the WCF for a second year in a row. Who would win? That’s hard to say.

But the Ducks would have the man curse that is Bertuzzi on their “side” this time around.

As great as all of these matchups would be, the only battle that has to happen is the one you saw coming a mile away

San Jose vs. Anaheim

This needs to be the year that the Battle of California takes place. Come on guys, seriously. Stop teasing us.

Uh oh

I stumbled on this (surprisingly) angry interview with Willa Ford. I could just picture Mike Modano whispering all of those things in her ear.

In fact, one part of the interview was especially amusing:

Q: How did you two meet?

Answer from Modano in the background: You picked me up on the Internet.

Willa Ford: Yeah, I stalked him. Shut up! Oh please, you wish! Basically, we met through friends doing a charity event. So, friends set us up.

Whether the ex-pop signer was being fed everything in this interview, it still should raise some red flags for Stars fans.

Q: What was it like watching Mike play in what was the most dramatic first-round series -- that seven-game series loss to the Canucks?

A: It was tough, lots of ups and downs. There are some holes in the system when it comes to the Stars right now. There are some changes that need to be made and I think everyone is pretty aware of it. Within the coaching staff, you know that "too many cooks in the kitchen" thing; there's a bit of a struggle. One head coach is saying one thing and then you have another coach saying another. They either need to come together on that or see eye to eye because it's a little confusing to the guys, I think. This is all stuff I noticed firsthand. You can clearly see it on the ice, but when you live it like I do, it's tough. I know everything that goes on.

But here's the biggest bombshell dropped by that blonde bombshell:

" ... And last year, when they didn't make it past the first round of the playoffs, it was like, "Oh, let's throw it on Mike's back because he's the captain and make him an assistant captain now." I mean, that was the cheesiest thing. That was the most classless thing the organization has ever done."

Is it possible that a doorway into the future of Modano's career lies in what looked at first to be nothing but a puff piece?

There's clearly still some hurt feelings since Modano lost the 'C' to Brendan Morrow. We'll see if Modano ends up out of Big D.

This is the first year I wouldn't be surprised if he left.

Broken home

Wow. Last night's game was just a kick in the nuts.

Reading today's Dallas Morning News didn't exactly soothe anything either. The Turco-Tippett era seems downright jinxed. It's really just a matter of what we want to call it. The Newy Curse? Maybe the Belfour Hangover?

Just reading some of the quotes and statistics, it looks pretty bad for the how-the-hell-are-we-down-3-1 Stars.

• Six straight playoff loses at home. Maybe the Stars need a "reunion" with their old arena.
• Just a set of awful stats for Modano: 0 shots in Game 4. According to the DMN, he only spent 9 seconds on the ice during a 5-on-3 powerplay. He also vented his frustration regarding Tippett's system. I'd say this ranges from not-good to catastrophic.
• The Stars are 3-10 in the last three years of the playoffs. Yikes.

This year's choke job cannot be placed on everyone's favorite scapegoat in leg pads, Marty Turco. So far in 4 games, the Canucks have outscored the Stars 9-8 and managed to take a 3-1 lead back to Vancouver.

It all could be tied up if Mike Ribeiro's near-goal scooted a mere inch or two further before former Star Willie Mitchell propelled it from the net. It was one of those situations where I looked away to discuss the greatness of the goal (I think my exact words, after saying that Modano, Ribeiro and Co. needed to step their games up, were "Speak of the devil!") before watching in slack jawed horror that it didn't count. And it was a good call. Good lord.

It's strange. I've never really enjoyed watching the Stars until this season. Yet even though they've played oftentimes captivating hockey, it's the same old song and dance.

The Stars are an aging team and Turco's contract numbers are big. That being said, he's not at fault. Hell, he's only allowed 9 goals in the equivalent of 5 games (my expert math says that's a sub-2.00 GAA). Turco's the caliber of goalie that can keep the Stars in the playoff mix for years to come, so it's finally time to ask some uncomfortable questions.

The question, sadly, is about American Hero Mike Modano, former perennial Selke candidate Jere Lehtinen and even captain Brendan Morrow. These guys haven't produced those crucial points. You know a team's desperate when you find yourself missing Eric Lindros.

It's hard to argue with a team that seems mostly well-run and well-coached, but at some point this team has to make a deep playoff run or make some significant changes. I don't know how long they can wait, because the clock is ticking on Modano, Zubov and these Stars.

On that DMN spread, Modano said that this year's playoffs are starting to look a lot like last year. If this core group is worth keeping around, they'll at least make this thing interesting.

Three 1-goal losses show that they're not getting blown out of the water, but we'll see how much heart the Stars have come Thursday.

P.S. Here's a number to make Java Geek beam: the Stars missed the net 19 times in Game 4. Maybe Boothe Laser Eye Center, which advertises heavily in Dallas, needs to give the Stars a group discount for 20/20 vision. They're shooting like Happy Gilmores out there.