If you didn’t get a chance to catch any of Mike Modano’s number retirement ceremony in Dallas on Saturday night, it’s worth a view. Yes, it’s 60 minutes in length, but well worth it.

The honor got me to thinking since the Sharks have not raised any numbers to the rafters, who should be first?

For Dallas, transplanted from Minnesota where the North Stars made Modano the NHL’s first overall pick in 1988 and where the most accomplished American-born hockey player skated until 1993-94 when the franchise moved to Big D where he played another 16 seasons, the decision to was a no-brainer.

The night was made perfect since the opponent was the Minnesota Wild, the expansion replacement for the North Stars, and Dallas invited everyone they could think of to attend the spectacular ceremony on ice. The show was worth the price of admission before the game even started.

The Sharks have their own Mike Modano playing for them right now, and we’ll get to that later, but here’s a short list who might garner consideration:

George Gund III: No doubt about it, surprised a banner isn’t up there yet. Coincidentally linked to the Minnesota’s first NHL franchise, Gund sold his interest in the North Stars to be awarded the Bay Area’s current franchise that started play in 1991 as the San Jose Sharks. A Lester Patrick Award winner in 1996, Gund sold the team to a local investment group in February of 2002 and passed last year at the age of 75.

No doubt about it, surprised a banner isn’t up there yet. Coincidentally linked to the Minnesota’s first NHL franchise, Gund sold his interest in the North Stars to be awarded the Bay Area’s current Doug Wilson: The team’s current general manager finished his illustrious 16-year playing career with his final two seasons as the first captain of the Sharks (1991-93) after spending his first 14 NHL seasons as a Chicago Blackhawk. Under Wilson’s GM watch since May of 2003, San Jose has reached the Stanley Cup playoffs in all nine seasons. The timing isn’t right now, and it would certainly be a slam dunk of the Sharks go on to win a Cup or two with Wilson at the helm, but down the road his No. 24 has got to go up.

The team’s current general manager finished his illustrious 16-year playing career with his final two seasons as the first captain of the Sharks (1991-93) after spending his first 14 NHL seasons as a Chicago Blackhawk. Under Wilson’s GM watch since May of 2003, San Jose has reached the Stanley Cup playoffs in all nine seasons. The timing isn’t right now, and it would certainly be a slam dunk of the Sharks go on to win a Cup or two with Wilson at the helm, but down the road his No. 24 has got to go up. Patrick Marleau: He’s the Sharks’ Modano. Drafted second overall in 1997 — coincidentally right behind current Shark Joe Thornton, who was taken No. 1 by Boston — Marleau has spent all of his 16 seasons in San Jose, and signed a contract extension last month which should keep him here for at least another three. Marleau is the franchise leader in most offensive categories, and he’s obviously far from done. Never mind he wore No. 14 early in his career, No. 12 will go to the rafters some day.

Here’s where it gets subjective. The following group is strong, but there’s a reason to question retiring their number basically because they either started their career elsewhere, didn’t spend a lot of time in San Jose despite making an impact, or maybe they just don’t carry enough cache.

So for argument purposes, here we go:

Joe Thornton: There’s no player who has single-handed kept the Sharks Stanley Cup contenders every season he plays. Acquired in a stunning deal on Nov. 30, 2005, Thornton has ascended up the all-time NHL assist and points in addition to setting a number of franchise marks in San Jose. He’ll finish among the top scorers in NHL history. He’s in his 10th season for the Sharks, will be here for at least three more but started with seven with Boston. Does that prevent No. 19 from hanging from the rafters some day?

There’s no player who has single-handed kept the Sharks Stanley Cup contenders every season he plays. Acquired in a stunning deal on Nov. 30, 2005, Thornton has ascended up the all-time NHL assist and points in addition to setting a number of franchise marks in San Jose. He’ll finish among the top scorers in NHL history. He’s in his 10th season for the Sharks, will be here for at least three more but started Owen Nolan: Acquired in 1995 after spending six seasons with the Quebec/Colorado franchise, Nolan was San Jose’s face of the franchise for part of eight seasons, his most productive in the NHL. Nolan still holds a number of franchise marks, was a team captain but more than anything brought San Jose a feeling on consistent respectability for the first time. He did, however, play six more seasons with four different teams after leaving the Sharks. Does No. 11 go up?

Acquired in 1995 after spending six seasons with the Quebec/Colorado franchise, Nolan was San Jose’s face of the franchise for part of eight seasons, his most productive in the NHL. Nolan still holds a number of franchise marks, was a team captain but more than anything brought San Jose a feeling on consistent respectability for the first time. He did, however, play six more seasons with four different teams after leaving the Sharks. Does No. 11 go up? Evgeni Nabokov: Drafted and developed by San Jose, “Nabby” was the team’s first impact goalie, tending the net for 10 seasons all as a fan favorite. He holds many of the club’s goaltending marks. But he’s moved on and continues his career with the Islanders, so maybe No. 20 wasn’t here long enough and came up just a bit short on the ice?

This category includes players who probably don’t qualify, but you hate to not have them mentioned:

Mike Ricci: No one was more popular for a short amount of time as a Shark — seven seasons from 1997-2004 — than the team’s current development coach. Ricci was simply the heart and soul of a team that starting reaching the Stanley Cup playoffs with consistency. It wasn’t as much about the numbers as the character and effort No. 18 displayed on a nightly basis, especially in the playoffs.

No one was more popular for a short amount of time as a Shark — seven seasons from 1997-2004 — than the team’s current development coach. Ricci was simply the heart and soul of a team that starting reaching the Stanley Cup playoffs with consistency. It wasn’t as much about the numbers as the character and effort No. Arturs Irbe: The fans fell in love with the Latvian goalie, who was immensely popular with teammates and the media, and led the team to a number of huge Stanley Cup playoff upsets. He only spent parts of five seasons as a Shark, so his No. 32 won’t hang, but he’s one of the all-timers when you leaf through all the players who donned teal.

The fans fell in love with the Latvian goalie, who was immensely popular with teammates and the media, and led the team to a number of huge Stanley Cup playoff upsets. He only spent parts of five seasons as a Shark, so his No. 32 won’t hang, but he’s one of the all-timers when you leaf through all the players who donned teal. Igor Larionov: One of the greatest hockey players of all-time, Larionov was in San Jose for parts of only three seasons. He was as responsible for the team’s first playoff appearance in 1994 as anyone, and No. 7 teamed with fellow Russian countryman Sergei Markarov to rekindle the memories of their skillful union for the former Soviet Union machines.

Down the road it’s feasible current players such as Joe Pavelski (No. 8), Logan Couture (No. 39) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (No. 44) could combine longevity and success into retiring-number consideration, but until then there’s plenty of above-mentioned candidates to get the puck rolling.