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Mike Modano once revealed how Babcock denied him shot at historic NHL milestone
Mike Modano was coached by Mike Babcock for one season but had a tough ending to his tenure.
In his final NHL season, Modano signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings, his hometown team, after spending 20 seasons with the Dallas Stars/Minnesota North Stars franchise.
In his final season in the NHL, Modano skated in 40 games but was healthy scratched for the final game of the season before the playoffs. Although that wasn't a huge deal on paper, had Modano played that game, he would've reached the 1500-game mark.
However, Babcock decided to scratch Modano, who ended his career with 1,499 games.
“It just happened to come down to one of those last couple games that I got healthy scratched, so I would have hit that 1,500 right on the nose in our last game in Chicago, but I got healthy scratched a couple games before against Minnesota at home in Detroit, so I ended up with that 1,499.
"Yeah, it was a bitter pill, still to this point it would have been nice to finish at some type of high note after that season I went through in Detroit, so yeah it’s a tough one. I’m kind of torn on that one.”
According to Mike Modano, several of his teammates were not happy with Mike Babcock's decision.
"The older guys were frustrated, and I think some of them were already frustrated with Mike at the time way before that. They were all feeling for me at the time.”
Had Mike Modano not been healthy scratched by Mike Babcock, he would have been one of 22 NHL players to play 1,500 games.
Mike Babcock has a history of controversy
Scratching Mike Modano so he didn't play 1,500 career games is not the only controversial thing Mike Babcock has done.
While he was with the Detroit Red Wings, he reportedly mentally and verbally abused Johan Franzen while he had a concussion. It got to the point that some players had to step in.
Meanwhile, while he was the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he made Mitch Marner, who was a rookie at the time, rank his teammates in terms of their work ethic.
It was supposed to be a private list between the two of them, but Babcock decided to share the list with the entire team, which did not sit well with many players.
This year, Babcock has been accused of making Columbus Blue Jackets players let him go through their camera rolls and share the photos on his office TV. The NHLPA is investigating the matter.
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