USA Today transcript for the Yzerman interview with Jim Rome on May 7, 2006.

Steve Yzerman on the Jim Rome Show 4/7: Rough transcript
Steve Yzerman appeared on the Jim Rome show this afternoon on WDFN 1130 AM.

I’ve paraphrased as the two gentlemen talked rather quickly. Pleasantries were exchanged at the beginning and end of the interview. Yzerman and Rome asked one another how they were doing, and got on with it:

Rome says: The last time we talked about how you missed 17 games this season, and now you’ve got 5 goals and 7 assists in the last 12 games. How do you feel coming down the stretch?

Yzerman: Prior to the Olympic break I felt that I was coming around things were slowing down on the ice–and I could see things develop a little faster–and after the break, I felt a lot better, but I had the opportunity, in practice and games, to work on my game, and get sharp, and I hope that I can be a productive player in the playoffs.

Rome asks: You seem to have gotten tougher over the years. As you’ve gone through your career, do you feel that you’ve become a tougher athlete?

Yzerman: I don’t think so, I haven’t necessarily gotten tougher, but over my career I’ve played with some pretty darn good veteran players, and as their careers went on, they took better and better care of themselves, in terms of conditioning, and diet, and that helped extend their careers, but they always put team success first. With Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and Lidstrom in the lineup, there’s a lot of depth, and good young players, so I don’t feel like I have to carry the load, and I feel that I’m more effective in a supporting role at this point in my career.

Rome asks: There’s a perception that hockey players are willing to play through more pain than other athletes. Do you think that it’s true that hockey players will play through more injuries than any other sport?

Yzerman: I think that there are a lot of athletes in other sports, some guys will play regardless, there are definitely guys that will play, and as you go down the stretch and the playoffs, if you assume you’re effective you go out and play, but there are a lot of guys who can’t play or don’t want to play if things aren’t right, and you have guys at the other end of the spectrum who lpay no matter what, and personally I want to play, I want to produce, and I want to take advantage of that, come the regular season or playoff time, and there’s defeintely a mentality that you go out there no matter what in the NHL.

Rome Asks: Has how you’re playing made you reconsider whether you’ll retire?

Yzerman: I’ve had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to do over the lockout, and I really wanted to come back and play well this year, and have a successful season, and try to finish in the playoffs, as we lost for two years in the first and second rounds, and I wanted to see if we could do it one more time, and have a good playoff run. At the end of the season I’ll make an official decision but I’ve spent a long time thinking about it and I know what I’ll do in the future.

Rome Asks: It seems like the pressure to carry a team is really magnified in hockey because you have to wear the “C,” you’re the captain and the leader of the team, as opposed other sports. It’s impressive to have seen you do that since age 21 in Detroit, in Hockeytown. Were you ready to wear the “C”?

Yzerman: I really don’t think it was the best thing, but, ironically, I took the role much more seriously then than I have in the last ten years, even, but I think that if I was choosing a captain for a team, I would have picked an older guy who’s played a lot, or if the team didn’t have one, I’d bring one in, and I think it’s important to have a guy who’s reached a certain level of play in his career, and is comfortable with that, and can put the interests of the team first. Young guys are trying to establish themselves, and they want to play at a certain level of play, and it’s difficult at that time to focus on what to do to get a team winning, and as a captain you have to look at what’s best for the team, and an older guy can see what’s best for the team, and he’s been through a lot more situations, and can adapt more easily and know what to do in those situations.

Rome asks: Was there any point at which being the captain, and having to be responsible for everyone, did the captaincy wear on you?

Yzerman: There was a while in the early seasons, mid 91-92 through 95, earlier in my career, where everything that happened fell in the grave, and you just have to win, and we had teams that finished first but lost in the first round, and we got to the finals and lost in 95, and it wasn’t good enough for us, and people were scrutinizing, asking why we didn’t win, and it was trying to get over the hump, and I was fortunate that the organization and ownership stuck with me, and they continued to be a strong team, the organization didn’t blow up the team and start again, and we won in 96-97, and the burden was lifted somewhat.

Rome asks: The fans in Detroit say that there’ve been many legends, Gordie Howe, but that you’re in a class by yourself, and in all four sports, Pistons fans, Lions fans, Tigers fans, and fans of Michigan and Michigan State all say the same thing, that you’re in a class by yourself. do you have a sense of how beloved you are, or how much you mean to the community?

Yzerman: I’m not sure how to answer that. I’ve lived here in Detroit for a long time, and my three daughters were born here, it’s my home, and we’re active in the community, in soccer and what not, and I’m out and around like every other parent, and people follow the team of course, and I appreciate that, and they know who I am, but the novelty of seeing me around has worn out, and I feel that most people know now who I am, but I’m just one of the citizens of the city, and I don’t walk around feeling like anything different or special. I’ve met guys like Al Kaline, who’s a legend, and he’s a regular guy. You run into him in a restaurant and you wouldn’t know who he is, and I don’t feel like I need to conduct myself as anything special or anyone special.

Rome asks: Well, hockey’s a part of it, but it’s how you conduct yourself that puts you in a class by yourself, but I don’t think you know how to respond to that, so I’ll let it go.

Rome asks: What about 2002, the year you won the Olympics and Stanley Cup?

Yzerman: It was incredibly exciting going into the tournament, and then when we won the thing, I dind’t realize till after the season was over how much it means to Canada, and one thing with the Olympic tournament is that you’re sheltered in the Olympic village with other athletes who’re focused on their own sports, and you’re roped off from the media, and it was a busy two weeks, and you don’t really get a chance to pay attention to what’s going on, and we got into the tournament, and as we played, we struggled early, but rounded into form and ended up winning it, and the phone calls I got, when I go home, people still react to it to this day, and talk about how importante that it is, and the pride your country feels is immesurable. There’re 5 million people in Detroit and that’s a great fan base, but the whole country, 30 million people are beaming with pride…but having said that, it’s definitely #2 to winning a Stanley Cup.

Rome Asks: What about winning that Cup in 02, did you know being so banged up, and as much as you were grind and never give in, did you know that you could tap the depths at that level, and do what you had to do to finish it?

Yzerman: No, I was thinking of bailing out of game 2 of the first round, I was really sore, and I went into Scotty Bowman’s office and said that I didn’t think that I was able to go, and Scotty told me to go out and take some faceoffs, and we ended up losing, and we were down 2-0, so I couldn’t back out of it. And I really struggled, but I played on a line with Sergei Fedorov and Brendan Shanahan, and we worked it out on the ice, and we were playing a form of the trap, and I was the lead guy to steer the puck in one direction, and Sergei would be the first guy back into our zone, and Shanny would be the second, but it really was a struggle, I didn’t practice and took it game by game, but I kept going, and before I knew it, the playoffs were over.

At the end of the interview, Yzerman was thanked for being on the show, and he said that he enjoyed coming on and appreciated being interviewed.