This Is How You Retire A Player's Jersey

Last Saturday night in Dallas, Texas, the Stars organization retired Mike Modano's #9 to the rafters of American Airlines Arena.  It was a ceremony that was probably one of the most epic I have ever seen, for it lasted 62 minutes before the night's game.  It definitely set the bar for how a jersey should be retired.  It also showed a great deal of respect for Mike Modano, who weathered the team moving from Minnesota to Dallas relatively early in his career.

Modano as a North Star

If you do not know Mike Modano, that's ok, like I said he started his NHL career with the Minnesota North Stars in 1989.  The Stars would relocate to Dallas in the early 1990s.  Modano would only play for the Stars except for one season with the Detroit Red Wongs.  Mike Modano would finish his career in 2010, becoming one of the best American players ever to play in the NHL.  He scored more points then any other American in NHL history.  Besides his peers Chris Chelios and former teammate Brett Hull, those 3 are considered to be the 3 best Americans ever in the NHL.

Getting back to the ceremony, the Dallas Stars brought back players from the 1999 Stanley Cup Champion team.  This would be Modano's only cup, but it was so well deserved.  They brought out former coaches, former owners of the Stars, and his family.  It was the largest crowd in Dallas for a game this season.  Hell, the Stars even brought out NFL Hall of Famers Troy Aikmen and Roger Staubach.  Dirk Nowitzki and Ronaldo Blackman were there representing the Dallas Mavericks.

So without further ado, the jersey goes up!

This video is only 2 minutes and it is at the end of the ceremony showing the banner going to the rafters. If you want to watch the entire ceremony here is a link:

The Ceremony

This was a great night hockey, especially American hockey.  The Dallas Stars did a great job, and showed a boat load of respect for Modano.  I encourage you to watch the entire ceremony because it was really well done.  Even if you do not like or watch hockey that often, I think you can appreciate the respect that the team has for Mike Modano.  I was never a Stars fan, but I always had a great deal of respect for Mike Modano, he was a great player and a total class act.