Modano may find the weight of Hockeytown heavy

Hockey Betting Lines

08/06/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Perhaps Mike Modano is finishing his career where he always intended.

It is certainly going to be odd for any long-time hockey fan to see Modano skate during an NHL season with nothing other than the symbolic star on his chest, first that of the Minnesota variety and later representing Dallas. But when the Stars decided this past offseason to part ways with Modano for the first time since the franchise drafted him first overall in 1988, there seemed to be only one destination in the cards for the center.

Modano was going home. Everybody knew it.

"I thought I was emotionally and mentally finished with the game after last year," said Modano at a press conference on Friday. "I think the last little while in Dallas has taken a toll on him in those aspects. But coming here to visit these guys and talking with them certainly does get you excited about the opportunity that is here."

The Michigan-born skater seems ready to bring his Hall of Fame worthy career to Detroit where it all began, but might not find Detroit so tranquil amid the pressure of bringing home another title.

Make no mistake, the Red Wings aren't bringing in Modano, who was born approximately 13 miles from downtown Detroit in nearby Livonia, with the thinking he will return to his 30-goal days. That time has passed as Modano has scored more than 22 goals just once in his last six seasons.

Instead, Detroit is offering the 40-year-old a comfortable place to conclude a career that is entering its 21st season, one that has seen the veteran post 557 goals and 1,359 goals, both most among U.S.-born skaters in NHL history. His 145 playoff posts also lead all American-born players.

Goals for the Red Wings will come off the stick of Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen and Tomas Holmstrom. Modano will only be counted on to lend veteran leadership to a third line that is expected to feature Dan Cleary and Jiri Hudler on the wings.

"The game looks easy when you watch these guys and you play against them," said Modano. "It just looks real simple and effortless and you don't waste a lot of energy. At 40, I don't really want to waste a lot of energy."

While Modano certainly sounds like a guy who realizes his best days are behind him, Detroit must get something from him offensively. The club is coming off a 2009-10 season that saw it go from tops in the NHL the previous year with 289 goals to 14th last season with 223 tallies. That drop was attributed to the free agent losses of Marian Hossa, Tomas Kopecky, Mikael Samuelsson and Hudler, who returns after a one-year stint in the KHL, as well as injuries to Valtteri Filppula and Franzen among others.

But other than bringing back Hudler, the Red Wings haven't added any scorer other than Modano, so to say they aren't expecting much out of the seven-time All-Star would be facetious.

Should Modano fail to contribute on offense, especially if the injury bug hits Motown again, he runs the risk of ending his career not with a bang, or better yet a title, but amongst a collective sigh of what used to be; just another veteran who stuck around one year too long.

"A lot of high expectations so I think that will drive us and really give me some excitement leading into camp to get ready for the season and hopefully live up to the hype and play a little more youthful than a 40 year old," said Modano.

This type of move has worked for Detroit before, as recent as eight seasons ago when the Red Wings added a 37-year-old Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille, 36, to a club that won it all in 2002. Both Hull and Robitaille scored 30 goals that regular season, while Hull finished fourth on the team with 18 playoff points.

A 30-goal season for Modano would exceed even the most wild expectations, but a punchless campaign out of the seasoned skater would sour his homecoming really quick.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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