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NHL franchises have three ways to honor past players: retire their number, induct them into their Hall of Fames or erect a statue of them outside the arena.
On Saturday, the Dallas Stars held a ceremony to unveil a statue outside American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX, for Mike Modano, who spent 20 seasons with the organization.
As the franchise's all-time leading scorer with 1,359 points, Modano helped lead the Stars to their only Stanley Cup championship in 1999, and in 2014, the same year he entered the Hockey Hall of Fame, Dallas retired his iconic #9 jersey.
Modano is the second highest-scoring American-born player with 1,374 points, behind only Brett Hull. During his two decades in the league, he was one of the premiere forwards, with nine seasons of thirty or more goals.
Who else from Modano's era (1988 - 2011) has had a statue erected in their honor?
Top NHL players from the past 40 years with statues
#10. Dave Andreychuk - Tampa Bay, FL
Outside Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay, FL, there is a statue of Dave Andreychuk, the captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 when they won the first Stanley Cup title in franchise history.
As a journeyman center who played in 1,639 games for six franchises, he finished his career with the Lightning, skating from 2001 to 2006 and serving as captain for three seasons.
Although he is the only one with a statue today, he'll likely get some company when current franchise stars Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov retire.
#9. Pekka Rinne - Nashville, TN
Pekka Rinne was an eight-round draft pick of the Nashville Predators in 2004 who would skate 15 seasons with the club. He led the franchise to its only appearance in the Stanley Cup Final (2017) and won the Vezina Trophy in 2018 as the league's best goalie.
As Finland's winningest netminder, Rinne remains the only player in Nashville history to have his number retired.
#8. Dustin Brown - Los Angeles, CA
Despite employing some of the greatest skaters in NHL history, only Dustin Brown has led the Los Angeles Kings to two Stanley Cup titles. The right winger was the 13th overall pick in the 2003 Entry Draft. He played his entire career with the Kings, retiring with the most games, 1,296.
Although Brown's reign at the top was short-lived, and he was recently bypassed in games played by long-time teammate Anze Kopitar, he remains in the top 10 in every statistical category. Thanks to all his accomplishments, the Kings retired his number in February 2022 and unveiled a statue of him with the Stanley Cup outside Crypto.com Arena.
#7. Al MacInnis - St. Louis, MO
Al MacInnis is a Hall of Fame defenseman who won the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy with the Calgary Flames in 1988. Six years later, he was traded in a blockbuster deal to the St. Louis Blues in 1994. He played the remainder of his career there, winning the Norris Trophy in 1999.
Despite being a defender, he ranks fifth in Blues history in assists (325) and tenth in points with 452. Eventually, MacInnis entered the Hockey Hall of Fame, was named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary Team, and St. Louis retired his number in 2006.
#6. Luc Robitaille - Los Angeles, CA
Luc Robitaille may have played in other cities, winning the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings. Still, he will forever be associated with the Kings organization, where he serves as President of Hockey Operations.
The Hall of Famer spent 14 seasons in Los Angeles, playing two stints with the club. He scored 557 of his career 668 goals there, making him the NHL's second-highest-scoring left winger behind Alex Ovechkin.
As one of the Kings' most gifted players, they retired him number #20 in 2007, immediately following his retirement after the 2005-06 season.
#5. Mike Modano - Dallas, TX
In March this year, the Stars erected their first statue, honoring the franchise's best player, Modano. A former first-overall pick in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, he skated 20 years with the team, scoring 50 goals and 100 points once.
Today, Modano remains the Stars' all-time leader in games played (1,459), goals (557), assists (802) and points (1,359), the only player to reach 1,000 points in a Dallas uniform. Once the Minnesota North Stars relocated to Texas in 1993, he became the poster boy for growing hockey in the southern market.
#4. Brett Hull - St. Louis, MO
Hull is another Hall of Famer who won Stanley Cups with different teams while accumulating the fifth most goals in NHL history. However, he'll always be associated with the Blues, where he skated from 1988 to 1998.
While in St. Louis, he won the Hart Trophy and the Lester B. Pearson Awards while scoring 527 goals. In just 758 games, Hull was so good that he ranks first in goals, second in assists (409), and second in points (936). The Blues retired his jersey immediately upon his retirement in 2006.
#3. Martin Brodeur - East Rutherford, NJ
Martin Brodeur is the NHL's winningest goalie and owns the most positional records for losses, shutouts and games played. He played the entirety of his career with the New Jersey Devils, except seven games, where he won three Stanley Cup titles and four Vezina Trophies.
As one of the top players to ever play with the Devils, it was unsurprising that he became the first one with a statue outside Prudential Center. Naturally, Brodeur was a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee, with New Jersey retiring his number in 2016, months after he retired.
#2. Mario Lemieux - Pittsburgh, PA
Mario Lemieux is one of the greatest players ever to play professional hockey. If injuries, including cancer, didn't slow him down, his trophy case would include more than two Stanley Cup rings, six scoring titles and three league MVP awards.
Lemieux retired in 1997, immediately bypassed the mandatory three-year waiting period to enter the Hall of Fame, and the Penguins retired his number #66. However, he bought the team from bankruptcy in 1999 and returned in 2000 to score another 229 points in 170 games.
Although he recently sold the team, Lemieux will always be the first player-owner in NHL history. A former first-overall pick who saved the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1984, he saved them again in 1999, leaving behind one of the game's most iconic legacies.
#1. Wayne Gretzky - Edmonton, AB and Los Angeles, CA
Wayne Gretzky is considered "The Great One." He owns the NHL's most treasured records: goals (894), assists (1,963) and points (2,857). During his 20-year career, he won 10 Art Ross and nine Hart Trophies.
At the time of his retirement in 1999, he owned or shared 61 records, which led the NHL to retire his iconic #99 league-wide. As a member of the Edmonton Oilers, he won four Stanley Cup titles from 1984 to 1988 while setting most of his records over those nine years.
The team honored him by retiring his number and erecting a statue of him with the Stanley Cup outside of Rexall Place. The statue was relocated when the team opened a new arena downtown, Rogers Place.
After one of the most shocking trades in history in 1988, Gretzky skated eight seasons with the Kings, breaking the goal and points records with the club and leading them to their only Stanley Cup Final appearance (at the time) in 1993.
As the NHL's greatest player, it is only fitting that the Kings retired his number in October 2002 while unveiling a statue honoring his contributions to the organization.
