The Oakland Press article
May 8, 2004
by Paula Pasche

While Steve Yzerman is dealing with a smashed cheekbone and a torn iris in his left eye, the Red Wings captain has a vision for the future.

First of all, he’s not done playing hockey.

“At this stage, I would say I’d like to play again. There’s just a lot of uncertainty,” Yzerman said following the team-photo session Friday. “There’s going to be changes with our team. I don’t know what’s going to happen with the CBA (collective bargaining agreement). That might be the biggest issue, not just myself but with others.”

The collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the players’ association expires Sept. 15, and a lockout could mean the end of careers, especially for veteran players.

Yzerman doesn’t rule out that scenario. If the lockout goes longer than a year, he might never play again.

“It doesn’t help you, at 39, to take a whole year off and not do anything,” he said. “Assuming you take really good care of yourself, you can miss a year and play. Beyond a year, it’s time to look to do something else.”

If there is no season, he does not expect to play elsewhere. He and his wife, Lisa, briefly discussed the possibility of moving the family to Europe so he could play, but they decided it just wouldn’t work.

He does not expect next season to start until January at the earliest. He also doesn’t see a salary cap as the answer to the owners’ financial woes.

“I understand the owners’ desire for one,” Yzerman said. “But I also understand the players’ association not wanting one of any sort. It’s not even going to get into the door, it’s not a consideration.”

His perspective on a potential NHL lockout is not pretty for hockey fans.

“It’s going to take a long, hard negotiation over a long period of time before both sides are going to lose a lot it comes to a point where something will be done,” he said.

He doesn’t buy the argument that a salary cap will give the NHL more stability and popularity, especially in markets that are not natural hockey areas. He said he’s in favor of contraction - reducing the number of teams from 30.

“I believe we’re in some markets that aren’t hockey markets, aren’t strong markets,” Yzerman said. “You can’t expect all 30 teams to be doing well at the same time.”

Still, Yzerman seemed relatively optimistic that he has not played his last NHL game, even with his health issues.

The most obvious concern is his left eye, which was injured by a deflected puck a week ago in Game 5 of the Calgary series.

He said Friday was his best day so far, because he didn’t get a headache when he was up and moving about. His eye still was swollen a bit and he didn’t have it wide open, only peering out of a crack while addressing the media.

Yzerman expects to recover from the eye injury well enough to play. The scratched cornea is insignificant and already has healed. He still suffers from bleeding in the back of the eye. His vision still is blurry in bright light.

“I have a small tear in the iris, which controls how the pupil dilates. I have some eye drops that temporarily paralyze my pupils to keep them open. It acts as a cast to let that part of the eye heal,” Yzerman said. “The only uncertainty is how much my pupil will expand and contract. Down the road, I don’t know how my eye will respond in bright light.”

He said there’s a “remote possibility” the eye situation could end his career.

“I don’t think I’m going to have any significant permanent loss of eyesight,” he said. “Both eyes were 20-20. My whole life, I never had an eye injury. I don’t know if it’ll get back to 20-20 in my left eye, but I don’t think it’s going to get to a point where I can’t play.”

From now on, he will wear a visor.

“Sitting in the hospital that night, I really wished I’d been wearing a visor,” he said. “I played 21 years and never had an eye injury. … My cheekbone didn’t really hurt at the time. The first thing that went through my mind was, ‘I don’t want to lose my eyesight.’ I really believe guys should be wearing them. I didn’t say that a week ago.”

Yzerman’s right knee was rebuilt nearly two years ago and he said it is not giving him problems, although he did mention neck issues resulting from a spinal fusion in 1994.

He does not want his career to extend until he has to crawl off the ice into retirement. He wants to be active away from the ice.

“I want to go skiing. Believe it or not, I want to wakeboard. There’s a lot of things I want to do when I’m not playing,” Yzerman said.

Even though Yzerman turns 39 on Sunday, general manager Ken Holland will find a wait to get him back in uniform.

“It’s really Steve’s call. … I haven’t talked to Steve, but, certainly, if Steve wants to play, we want him back,” Holland said.

Coach Dave Lewis said Yzerman still can contribute to the team.

“He’s a competitor and he has the heart of a lion,” Lewis said. “He can still be an important player to this team, maybe in a different role, but I think he can be an important player.”