Mike Modano drops truth bomb over Mike Babcock's controversial decision that denied him shot at completing 1,500 NHL games

Mike Modano recently shared the story of how he finished his career with 1,499 games instead of 1,500. On Tuesday's episode of the "Spittin’ Chiclets" podcast, Modano explained that the decision came down to his coach, Mike Babcock.

During his final season in 2010-11 with the Detroit Red Wings, Modano returned from an injury and began planning his games.

"So I got hurt, cut some tendons. I was in a rehab thing," Modano said. "So I come back talking to the doctors and, okay, when are we gonna time this return and stuff? I'm like, wow. This is, I'm looking at maybe 1st week of March. I'm like, okay. So March 8th.

"So now I'm penciling. Now I'm looking at my games played to the end of the year. So I'm like, oh, so I'm adding the numbers. I'm like, hey. If I get now till then, I hit 1500 on a nut. We're whittling down. We got 3 left."

However, as the season ended, Babcock made unexpected choices. After Modano played his 1,498th game, he was scratched in the next one, a home game against Minnesota.

"So, I play about 1498, Minnesota at home, healthy scratch," Modano said. "Then he plays me in Chicago for the season-ender to get 1,499."

Babcock later explained his reasoning to Modano via a phone call.

“He said, ‘Mike, we didn’t bring you here to get 1,500 games," Modano said. "We brought you here to win a cup."

Despite the unfortunate scratch, Modano’s career stats have put him among some of the best NHL players. He scored 561 goals, 813 assists and 1,374 points over 1,499 games. However, missing the 1,500-game milestone remains a sore point.

Almost a decade after Mike Modano's incident, Mike Babcock was involved in another controversy

Mike Babcock’s decision has become one of many controversial moments in his coaching career. Stories about his treatment of players, including an incident involving players’ phones, have added to his negative reputation.

On Sept. 12, reports from the "Spittin Chiclets" podcast said Babcock asked players to show him their cellphone photos during a team exercise. This controversy led to his resignation from the Columbus Blue Jackets before coaching a single game.

For Mike Modano, missing 1,500 games by one scratch is a frustrating memory from an otherwise legendary career.