For Hall of Famer Modano, return to Dallas has special meaning

And so, a season that has been devoted on many levels to remembering and honoring some of the most important pieces to the Dallas Stars' franchise puzzle, a puzzle a quarter of the century in the making, ends in the most fitting way possible with the return of "The Captain" -- Hall of Famer Mike Modano.
The highest-scoring American-born player of all time, who was honored as one of the top 100 players of all time last year, Modano returns to Dallas on Saturday with fond memories, an eye to the future and a more permanent relationship with the game he dominated for many years.
We caught up Modano this week from his home in Scottsdale, Arizona where he lives with wife, Allison, and their three children.

Scott Burnside: So, catch me up with where you're at with the kids? I think I saw a picture on Twitter with you and the twins on the ice.
Mike Modano: The twins will be four in July, so a little over a 3 ½ and the little one will be two in August, so she's a little over a year and a half. So, we've been taking the twins snow skiing quite a bit, so we just figured (skating) just kind of coincides with one another, so if they handle the skiing and they understand the edging and the edging of the skates, so it kind of helps each one of them out when they're doing different things. Anyway, so that part's been fun. They've been skating a little bit and all that, and skiing's been fun with them. So, they're starting to get a little bit more active and busy and that part's been fun to finally get them into stuff to see if they enjoy it at all.
SB: So, how many pairs of skates are in the house right now, all told?
MM:Three. Oh, wait, Allison's got a pair, too. She played hockey a little bit, too, when she was a kid, so she's got a pair, too. So, four.
SB: Is there a moment when you're on the ice with them and you're watching your kids on skates, and you think, 'Holy cow, maybe this is how my mom and dad felt?'
MM:Uhm, I'm not sure because neither one of us was really waiting for that day to get them on the ice. We just figured that it would come, and if they wanted to do it, fine. But they're still a little young. They're just kind of doing things we're throwing at them and kind of seeing if they love it or if they want to keep doing it. We usually take them once a week to open skating on Sunday and just kind of go out there with them for a little bit for 30-40 minutes. Yeah, it's nothing serious. They're so young. I think I was about seven when I started skating, so they're way ahead of schedule.
SB: Is there hockey gear in the house?
MM:Some mini sticks. They slap the sticks around. They got some mini golf clubs, some mini soccer balls -- anything that keeps them moving. They enjoy kind of whacking stuff around and kicking stuff. It gives them something to do.
SB: As the twins get older, you know your life will never be your own, right? That's the rule with three kids, but I wonder if being a dad has been different than you thought?
MM: I don't know. I didn't really have any type of expectations, per se. I think I just kind of went in there (thinking) whatever it is, it is. So, I wasn't expecting anything and I was just pretty open-minded to everything. I don't know, it's just been enjoyable to be around all the time and to see them grow and learn things. They're beginning to really kind of talk in sentences and carry conversations. So, they're really interesting to say the least.
SB: When you're on the ice, do people recognize you? What's the recognition factor in Scottsdale?
MM:I think at the rink there is because I do drop-in hockey a lot on Monday and Wednesday with a bunch of guys who are a bunch of Canadians and Mid-Western people that are living out here or who come out here for the winter. So, I just do a normal little drop-in hockey with these guys on Mondays and Wednesdays, so they get a kick out of that when I walk in, and they're a fun bunch of guys and we just have some good laughs and they just love sitting around and talking about the league and what's going on and their teams and stuff. You go to the rink, yeah, there's always a couple that they look at you and they're not quite sure if it's you or not, or you're just in a different geographical, so they don't think it's you, because why would I be in Scottsdale?

SB: So, this is just shinny hockey -- throw sticks middle and have some fun?
MM:We just kind of mess around. It's a big turnout. So, we have about 30 guys every Monday and Wednesday, so it's a pretty good deal. It's not bad hockey. All these guys have played some type of hockey growing up, so they have an idea of what they're doing out there.
SB: That's pretty cool. Do you like it? When you retired, after you played all those games and you go to the Hall of Fame, how important is something like this to you?
MM:I mean, I think for a period of time (after retirement), I just needed some space and some time away to enjoy the kids, and that was a lot of fun being able to be a part of that. But I think as they got older, now that they're a little more self-operable and they go to school quite often, they're busy throughout the week, so there's a little more free time to kind of do some stuff kind of get out and do some things for ourselves now that we enjoy doing by ourselves or together or whatever. So that part's been good to get back in there and enjoy it and have fun with those guys.
SB: No one's trying to show you up, right? Do you have guys who are like, I'm going to dangle Mike Modano or I'm going to put my shoulder in Mike Modano?
MM:(Laughing) No, no, but they all seem to be trying a little extra and trying to make some plays and stickhandling and doing this and that. But it's fun. We all get a kick out of it, but it's just mess around session for about an hour.
SB: Tell me about your relationship with the game now? Lots of your peers are doing different stuff with the game at various levels, how would you define your relationship with the game?
MM:I think there's a little bit of interest to kind of get back into it. Like I said, the kids are a little bit older and you're trying to find things back again to keep you involved and keep you into it. I think there's a little bit of interest in that sense where finding the right mix and the good connection to get back into it, but I've been patient about it. I'm not rushing into it. If there's a certain situation and the right ideas come along, I'm open to kind of hearing anything and looking into something more so than I did before.
SB: So, could such a return to the game in a formal way involve the Dallas Stars?
MM:Yeah. We've talked with them and I think it's just a matter of how much longer we want to stay in Scottsdale and if we're ready to get out and go somewhere else or move back there. There's options. Sometimes, that's the hard part is when you have too many options, you're just kind of going through every scenario in your head and trying to figure out what's right and where you want to raise the kids and what school you want to put them in. Now, you got certain priorities that, hopefully, at some point, they all kind of intertwine and it's the right mix of them all.
SB: When you think of Dallas, do you think of it as 'home?'
MM:Yeah, I always do. There's always an emotional and a physical connection with Dallas, and there will be for the rest of my life. There's always that part of it that tugs on you to kind of get back there and be part of the community and the fans and the organization, so I think that part will never go away.
SB: When you come back, are you always reminded of all the things that happened -- '99, the move here from Minnesota, all of the things that happened to you as a professional? When you touch down, what's it like?
MM:Like you said, you go through all those checkpoints of experiences, and what we did and moving down there and everything. Players, personnel, coaches, owners -- everything, fans, I think every time I go back there, there's always a checklists of things that I kind of go through, and there's always familiar faces that are still loyal fans and big season-ticket holders that are still there to this day. So, I think there's always an emotional connection when you come back into town, especially when you go to a game and you're there and you kind of see how great the game's been since moving down there.

SB: Do you follow it now? Do you follow what's happened with the Stars recently and the scoring race and stuff like that?
MM:Yeah. I think throughout the season, I watch numerous bunches of games and I watch highlights at night and try to keep tabs on what's going on, with kind of an outside interest where you kind of see what's going and what's the latest and greatest, and certainly the scoring race was one of them, and obviously watching the whole Stars scenario unfold here lately and seeing that.
SB: Do you have a connection with guys on the team -- Tyler Seguin or Jamie Benn or any of those guys -- or is there more separation?
MM:Pretty at distance with that. I think it's more so with the guys that are still in the front office stuff and guys that are still there when I was there. So I'll touch base with them and with Daryl Reaugh and 'Luds' (Craig Ludwig) -- you know, guys of that nature and training staff that are still there, guys up in the front office are still good friends. So there's always ways of keeping up to date on things.
SB: When you think about coming back on Saturday night and coming out in front of the crowd, does it make you nervous, the idea of putting on that jersey again?
MM:No, I'm looking forward to it. It's been fun seeing all the other guys come in and do their spiel, too, and there's the list of guys that were pretty big part of the last 25 years that rightfully deserved their moment, too. So, we've tried before to kind of work out dates, but it happened that this one worked out and it's the last (home) game of the season, and it's all kind of ironically pulled together. So, there's not much nervousness. Just kind of excited to get back and looking forward to doing it.
SB: When you think of returning to the game, do you think of it in terms of management, media, being a scout? Do you have an idea of what role you'd like to play, whether it's in Dallas or somewhere else?
MM: It's hard to say. I think it's more the strategy of it, putting a team together and players and personnel in that sense where you feel there's a little bit more of some hard input into what type of team you're creating. So I think that to me is a little bit where I'm leaning, where you have some strong opinions and put your two cents in that has a big factor in how the team is. Something that kind of gets me excited about it and gives me a sense of purpose and some value and something that gets you excited about every day.
SB: You mentioned Craig Ludwig and some of the others that were part of that Cup-winning team in '99. Does it surprise you the connection that still exists with that group even after all this time has passed?
MM: I would say not so much. I think our relationship and the way we played and our friendship on and off the ice was something -- really kind of something that I never think we really experienced after those four or five years together and that little run we had there. I don't think it's ever been the same. It's hard to duplicate that and the character and the whole the group of guys we had was just really just -- it was a dynamic group. And at the end of the day, we got along, we enjoyed our time on the ice, away from the ice, traveling, this and that, and in that sense, I think it helped our overall team scenario, too, as much as possible. So, it doesn't surprise me. I think there's always a connection there because of what we went through and the sacrifices and what we went through those years and those playoff runs to kind of have some success.
SB: When you tune in and watch the Stars, or even on Friday when you walk out and you look over and see Ken Hitchcock standing behind the bench, is it strange to you to see him back again?
MM:You know, I think I go back just him being a real big part of my career, how he helped evolve me as a player and the pressure and the buttons he pushed on me to kind of get to me to a level I didn't think I was capable of getting to. And so, yeah, he's really a strong personality. He loves the game. He loves trying to get the most out of certain players. I've always been one of his big fans and always kept in touch with him and called him every time he made a new change or something happened. I think that goes back to all the players. All the coaches, the players, we're all close and we call each other and check in and ask for each other. I call 'Hitch' quite often to get some advice and his thoughts on things, and (assistant coach) Rick Wilson and those guys. They weren't only coaches, but they were really quality, good friends.
Mike Modano returns to American Airlines Center on Saturday, where he will be honored throughout the Stars' game against Minnesota as part of the team's 25th Anniversary Reunion Nights. For more information, and to purchase tickets, click here.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Scott Burnside is a senior digital correspondent for DallasStars.com. You can follow him on Twitter @OvertimeScottB, and listen to his podcast.