Mike Modano and Tyler Seguin remember the late Gordie Howe, reveal why he will always be remembered in NHL locker rooms

Mike Modano is a hockey icon in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. He hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1999 with the Stars and is the all-time goal scoring and point leader among American born NHL players.

Oh, he is in the Hockey Hall of Fame, too. 

Tyler Seguin is one of the most polarizing players in the game today and possesses breakneck speed that when paired with teammate Jamie Benn, has shown to be lethal.

Recently, both Modano and Seguin paid tribute to the late Gordie Howe, who died Friday at age 88.

The former Red Wings captain, known by many as simply "Mr. Hockey," was a 23-time All-Star and holds the record for most games and seasons played.

Modano and Seguin both took to The Players Tribune to pay their respects and share the memories they each had of Howe.

Having had his number retired by Dallas in 2014, Modano revealed Howe was the reason he wore number 9.

"I always wore number 9 because of Gordie Howe," Modano wrote. "Ever since I started playing junior hockey up in Saskatchewan with the Prince Albert Raiders, it had to be number 9."

"Gordie is such an icon that you don't need to watch YouTube to get an understanding of what he means to the game of hockey. His legend has been passed down by word of mouth, from junior hockey buses to NHL locker rooms."

"Gordie Howe will live on in NHL locker rooms as long as people are still playing hockey. I'll guarantee you right now, even 50 years from now, any time a guy has a goal, an assist and a fight, there will still be a rowdy little celebration in the room, and you'll hear Gordie's name."

Seguin also marveled at Howe's toughness, particularly his massive physique, and said "Gordie wasn't to be messed with."

"Gordie is just massive," Seguin wrote. "Gordie wasn't to be messed with. And he was just such a complete player on the ice. He was everything all at once. That's probably what I'll always remember about him. As a kid growing up, my father and my father's father talked a lot about Gordie, and he became a bigger-than-life figure for me."

'It was terrible': Stars center Tyler Seguin on fluky playoff injury, how close he was to returning

Tyler Seguin suffered a calf injury when he returned from an Achilles tendon injury in Game 2 of the first round playoff series, the Stars revealed Friday.

While Seguin and coach Lindy Ruff said the calf injury was directly related to the Achilles injury, both said they felt Seguin was healthy when he played April 16 against the Minnesota Wild.

"It's a tough one to explain. It's related, it's a calf injury that he suffered," Ruff said. "I guess it's related to the Achilles, maybe one area compensating for the other, but even with the two extra skates I thought he looked dynamic in practice the next couple of days and it's unfortunate what happened. He was medically cleared well before we even played him, but that's just stuff that happens."

Seguin said he knew when he either strained or tore his calf muscle in Game 2 that he was going to have problems. He finished the game and played 15:40,but he struggled throughout.

"It was terrible," Seguin said. "Honestly, I didn't really tell Lindy about it at the time. I hadn't been in the lineup, so I kind of kept it to myself and told (head trainer) Dave (Zeis) but not really Lindy. I've never felt anything like that."

Still, Seguin said he felt great when he was skating before Game 2 and understood the risk involved.

"I was told hips, knees, calf, this could all be caused from the Achilles," he said.

Asked if he came back too soon, Seguin said: "The thing with my calf is, I didn't have the strength yet when I was coming back in the lineup. It was another fluke thing that happened, a weird step that made it go fireworks in my leg. You can speculate all you want. I could have waited a couple of more games. I'm a competitive athlete and I see my team working hard the last 10 games of the season with me hurt and then I get a chance to be back in the lineup for Game 2 against Minnesota, I'm not going to pass that up."

Stars general manager Jim Nill said a lot of thought went into the decision-making to put Seguin back into the lineup.

"He had the Achilles tendon severed. It was fully healed, he came back, and he had an injured calf muscle," Nill said. "Is that a result of the Achilles? We don't know. We think it is just because of the way everything heals up, different dynamics, the muscle's firing different. He came back that first game and severely injured his calf muscle."

The loss of Seguin, who is fourth in scoring in the NHL over the past three seasons, was significant. Ruff said just having Seguin there to finish some of the great scoring chances the Stars created would have been helpful.

"If you give Tyler a couple of those opportunities that some of our players had, he doesn't miss," Ruff said. "That's just what he is, he's a dynamic goal scorer, and he doesn't need five chances to score one. I don't want to use any excuses, we didn't have him. We had to play without him and I still think we had a chance to beat them without him. Would he have helped? I think the answer's yes."

Seguin said the experience was mentally exhausting. He said watching his teammates battle hard for two months without him was tough.

"I wanted to be back out there so badly, but there wasn't really any much talk of me playing against St. Louis," he said. "Then, the last few days, I really started feeling a lot better and started being able to skate a lot harder. Personally, I was hoping for maybe a Game 2, Game 3 next round. So I was close, but I wasn't close enough yet."

Now, he said, he will focus on being ready for the World Cup of Hockey, which starts Sept. 17 in Toronto. Seguin and Jamie Benn have been selected for Team Canada.

"My motivation's huge," Seguin said. "This offseason is going to be a little different with that World Cup stuff happening and with being injured, continuing rehab. Like I told our docs, even if I came back in the next round, I still wasn't going to be 100 percent. So it was probably next year and it would take an offseason to get my Achilles fully healed and get my calf back working. I'm really working very hard on that probably starting next week and getting it back to 100 percent."

Stars' Tyler Seguin missed playoffs with strained calf

Tyler Seguin says he didn't even know he had calf muscles before the All-Star forward from Dallas injured one trying to come back from a cut on his left Achilles tendon.

So the 24-year-old will just add that to his off-season conditioning checklist as he tries to get healthy for next year after sitting out all but one postseason game this season.

"Probably the toughest time of my career I would say, being away from the rink," Seguin said Friday following team meetings two days after a Game 7 loss at home to St. Louis with a trip to the Western Conference finals at stake. "Just two months of trying to find a fine line between supporting the guys and also not being a distraction and making sure they can do their jobs."

The trouble started March 17 when Seguin was cut during a 4-3 victory against Tampa Bay. He missed the final 10 games of the regular season but was skating close to full speed when the playoffs started.

After Seguin missed the opener against the Wild, coach Lindy Ruff decided to give the team's No. 2 scorer behind captain Jamie Benn a shot in the second game. The left calf, weakened by the layoff, didn't last long.

Calls injury 'fireworks in my leg'

"It was another fluke thing that happened, a weird step that made it go fireworks in my leg," said Seguin, who had 73 points during the regular season (33 goals, 40 assists). "I've never felt anything like that."

The Stars also revealed Friday that Patrick Sharp separated a shoulder in the St. Louis series and fellow forward Antoine Roussel had a strained abdomen. Both played all 13 postseason games. Travis Moen was limited to six games with a broken wrist.

Dallas led the Western Conference with 109 points in the regular season, and extended the second-place Blues to seven games despite getting outscored 25-14 in the series. Dallas never scored more than three goals in a game.

"It was going to be a tight series regardless of who was in the lineup," forward Jason Spezza said. "Would he have helped us? Definitely. He's a special player in the league. The reality of it was is he wasn't going to be able to play. You almost just block it out and you move forward and that shows the resiliency of the group."

Ruff pointed to several missed chances early before Game 7 got out of hand and the Blues cruised to a 6-1 victory.

"I'm going to tell you if you give Tyler a couple of those opportunities that some of our players had, he doesn't miss," Ruff said after falling to 0-4 in Game 7s as a coach. "That's just what he is. He's a dynamic goal scorer, and he doesn't need five chances to score one."

If Seguin is healthy and the Stars are contending a year from now, the high-scoring duo of Benn and Seguin will try to win a postseason series together for the first time. They lost in the first round to Anaheim in 2014, Seguin's first season with the Stars.

"I think whenever you have a chance to have Tyler in the lineup, it's going to make your team better," said Benn, the captain who was second in the NHL in regular-season points with 89 (41 goals, 48 assists) and tied for second in playoff points through two rounds with 15 (five and 10). "It was tough not having him, but we had to find a way to do it without him and came up short."

From Seguin's point of view, the Stars were effective without him.

"We bought into playing with who was in the lineup," he said. "I don't think anyone was really thinking about that during the games. But obviously when we're in those close games, and I'm watching upstairs and I know I can help." Maybe next year.

SEGUIN SENDS OUT 'WEIRD' TWEET CHEERING ON BRUINS

Proving once and for all that he’s over the bitter divorce from the Boston Bruins three years ago, Tyler Seguin sent out a pro-Bruins tweet on Friday night while watching the Bruins battling for their playoff lives in St. Louis. Clearly Seguin had a Central Division agenda in hoping the Blues would lose the late regular season game, but the former Bruins star sent out a tweet supporting the B’s in the third period of their white knuckle 6-5 win over a hard-to-kill St. Louis club at Scottrade Center.

Seguin is, of course, on the shelf with an Achilles tendon injury at the moment and unable to help the Stars on the ice. So instead the 24-year-old sent out the pro-Bruins tweet cheering on former teammates like Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask and David Krejci among others.

It might have been “weird” in the words of Seguin rooting for a Bruins win, but it ended up being just the good luck charm that Boston needed on a night they required all the help they could get against the Blues.

Tyler Seguin not quite ready to become a rapper, but appreciates work of friend 'Mike Stud'

Tyler Seguin has a lot of friends who are athletes, and at least one who has become a rapper.

Seguin hung out one night last week at Trees with good friend and rapper Mike Stud, who was performing. The evening turned into a full-fledged athlete get-together, with Mavericks swingman Chandler Parsons and Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel also on hand.

"I think we tend to congregate; there's a lot in common and a lot of connections," Seguin said.

Seguin has known Stud for years. He got to know the former Duke pitcher, whose given name is Michael Seander, while played for the Boston Bruins.

Seander saw his athletic career end because of Tommy John surgery. He started rapping as a joke, but he gained fans and has since put out albums and gone on tour as Mike Stud. Seguin and Manziel are even mentioned in his songs.

"It's fun to watch him. He's really creative. I respect his talent," Seguin said. "He'll be working on a beat and then he'll leave the room for five minutes and come back with a whole verse. It's amazing to watch."

Seguin said he has no future in rapping but enjoys the concerts. He said he has gotten to know Manziel and Parsons and also is friends with Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman, another Duke alum.

Seguin has met players through sponsor connections, awards shows and mutual friends.

"Athletes tend to appreciate one another and what the other can do," Seguin said. "I think we can relate."

An account of the evening was reported by TMZ.

"It's a little weird, but it's just sort of how it is," Seguin said of the report. "I was there more to see a friend than anything else, but you just sort of expect it now."

2 short-handed goals help Avalanche beat Stars 3-1

DALLAS - For three years in a row now, the Colorado Avalanche have dominated Dallas.

At least on the scoreboard.

Carl Soderberg and Gabriel Landeskog each scored a short-handed goal, and the Avalanche beat the Stars 3-1 Saturday night for their fourth consecutive victory.

Semyon Varlamov made 42 saves for the Avalanche, outshot 43-15. Mikhail Grigorenko added Colorado's final goal with 5:51 remaining.

The Avalanche beat Dallas for the 11th time in 12 meetings during Lindy Ruff's three seasons as Stars coach.

"Those are things that you can't really explain," Landeskog said. "They're one of the best teams in the league this year and they're playing really well. It's just a matter of trying to get ourselves in a good spot."

The Stars totalled 106 shots, but the Avalanche blocked 32 and Dallas misfired on 31 others.

"I thought our penalty killing was really good, and we scored two short-handed goals. That gave us a chance to win this game, and (Varlamov) was phenomenal out there," Colorado coach Patrick Roy said.

Jason Demers scored for the Stars, who fell to 2-6-2 in their last 10 games. Antti Niemi stopped 12 shots.

"To force them out of their game, you have to get the lead," Ruff said. "We didn't force them out of their game. We had to be a little harder around the front of the net."

Landeskog's goal at 10:12 of the second period broke a 1-all tie. Tyson Barrie pushed the puck ahead to Landeskog, who skated in alone and put a wrist shot past Niemi.

Colorado's penalty killers are 19 for 21 in the last seven games, with three short-handed goals.

"I realized I was on my own," Landeskog said. "I kind of had my mind made up already what I was doing coming in on him. It doesn't happen very often that you score one short-handed goal, nonetheless two."

Dallas dominated the early play, but Varlamov denied good chances for Johnny Oduya, Valeri Nichushkin and Tyler Seguin. Demers tied it for the Stars on the power play at 7:24 of the second.

Midway through the first period, Niemi saved a close-in shot by Soderberg with his pads and engulfed John Mitchell's wrist shot from the slot.

Soderberg gained redemption during the first period's only power play. He won a battle for the puck from Jamie Benn, skated in on Niemi and flipped a wrist shot into the upper left corner at 19:07.

In the second period, the Stars had the first 12 shots on goal, finally scoring on the ninth when Demers backhanded in a rebound from the blue paint.

Dallas' goal appeared to come with a bonus: Soderberg hit Demers with a high stick that drew blood and a double-minor. Landeskog scored during the 4-minute power play, however, and Grigorenko put in his own rebound over Niemi's glove for a 3-1 lead.

"I'm pretty tired after back-to-back games," Varlamov said. "Those were very intense games for us. I think we almost died after the second period. We took too many penalties and then they were all over us. Thank God that we scored."

NOTES: Avalanche RW Jack Skille left in the first period with a back injury after crashing into the boards following a shot that Niemi saved. ... Colorado welcomed back D Erik Johnson, who missed nine games because of a lower-body injury, and LW Blake Comeau, who missed Friday's game while his wife was giving birth to their second daughter. ... The short-handed goals moved the Avalanche up to fifth in the NHL with six, trailing Ottawa (nine), Montreal (eight) and Dallas and Winnipeg (seven each). ... Landeskog has three goals in two games vs. Dallas this season. ... The Stars are 1-8-3 against Colorado in Ruff's tenure as coach, including losses in both games this season. ... The Stars scored once on five power plays, but gave up the two short-handed goals and are 4 for 33 over the last 12 games.

Heika: Dallas Stars seem to be embracing attitude Tyler Seguin once preached

Dallas Stars beat writer Mike Heika recently hosted a chat to talk all things hockey. Here are some of the highlights:

Question: During Tyler Seguin's first year here, he said the Stars had to learn to "hate to lose" after a loss. Boston had that attitude. Do you think the Stars are learning that finally? And if so, what is driving that?

Heika: I do think they have that attitude. It would be easy to say Jamie Benn is the leader. He has been here longer than any other player, and he has been through the down years, so you can sense his motivation. But everyone has his own story. Seguin talks about losing in the Stanley Cup finals and how it was one of the worst feelings ever. Sharp and Oduya are coming from a team that has been through it all. Antti Niemi seems extremely competitive. I think it is something that they're sharing, and something that is magnified by the fact they know how good this team can be.

Question: Can't remember the last time I saw a Stars comeback that was like the one in Minnesota. This team seems different.

Heika: There hasn't been one that big in a while (officially 2007), but they have been very good in third periods this season, and the comeback was part of that. Dallas was outscored 101-74 in third periods last season. They are outscoring opponents 34-17 this season. That is a significant difference.

Question: Were Saturday's first-period difficulties more the result of the back-to-back, or the stronger competition of the Central Division, and how does that bode for future Central matchups?

Heika: I think back-to-back and a motivated Minnesota team. Dallas was coming off a big win and Minnesota was coming off a disheartening loss, and that seemed clear in the first period. The Central will be tough, but the Stars seem excited about testing themselves with some tough divisional games.

Question: Didn't the Wild want to play the Stars in an outdoors game? Do you see one of those in the team's future?

Heika: It's a difficult thing to sort through. These decisions get made by NHL officials, television executives and teams. The Stars were thought to be the perfect opponent for an outdoor game, because of their history in Minnesota. However, Chicago was chosen as the opponent. The Wild, I believe preferred to go with Chicago because of their rivalry with that team and the national cache of three Stanley Cups. I believe television execs agreed with that decision. I'm not sure on the Stars doing an outside game. There is no natural rival. It also might be tough to hold at AT&T Stadium because of the prep time. We'll see. There are no talks ongoing at this time.