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Red Wings GM Ken Holland On Mike Modano: 'Yeah, I'm Interested'

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When it was announced earlier this week that the Dallas Stars were not going to bring back Mike Modano, speculation immediately began about where the 20-year NHL veteran would land, assuming he decides not to retire. Immediately the Red Wings seemingly jumped to the top of the list of possible destinations for Modano based mainly on the fact that he's from Livonia and grew up in Michigan. Most assumed it would just make sense for Modano to return to his home state to finish his career, especially since the Wings will be a threat to make another Stanley Cup run.

The obvious problem with all of this talk about signing Modano is the fact that the Wings don't have much cap space to work with and they have enough forwards on one-way contracts as it is. This has led many people to write off the possibility (myself included) of Modano signing with Detroit, but general manager Ken Holland said today that, while nothing may come of this, he is interested in the former Dallas Star.

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland confirmed that he has expressed interest in Mike Modano, but said he didn't want to get people excited because "it might not go anywhere."

"He's a local boy, a (future) Hall of Famer, yeah, I'm interested," Holland said. "We've had good success through the years in getting the most out of players that are nearing the end."

Evidence of this interest in Modano comes in the form of this report from The Dallas Morning News:

Mike Modano said today that he has talked with the Detroit Red Wings and a couple of other teams (I hear St. Louis is interested), but that he has not gotten serious about anything.

For the Red Wings to bring in Modano, some moves would likely have to be made to free up cap space and create some room on the roster. There's no doubt that it would be nice for Modano to return to Michigan to finish his career with the Red Wings, but it still doesn't seem like a legitimate possibility just yet. Then again, considering Holland is interested in Modano, chances are the Wings already have a plan that would allow them to sign him.