NHL.com article
July 7, 2006
by Phil Coffey and Shawn Roarke

The changing of the guard is official for the Detroit Red Wings.

Steve Yzerman, the Wings’ longtime captain and inspirational leader, as well as one of the greats in NHL history, made his retirement official Monday at a press conference.

“I just had this feeling it is time for me to move on,” Yzerman said.

Yzerman arrived in Detroit as a first-round selection in 1983, the fourth-overall pick of the Entry Draft. At the time, the Red Wings were far removed from their current status as one of the NHL’s elite teams, but with Yzerman in the fold, a new era dawned in “Hockeytown”.

Yzerman leaves the ice with tremendous scoring stats, 692 goals and 1,063 assists in 1,514 regular-season games. In 196 Stanley Cup Playoff games, he scored 70 goals and 115 assists.

But Yzerman will not be remembered for his statistics. He was far more than a point producer, he became the soul and conscience of not only the Red Wings, but to a large degree, hockey in general. Yzerman was a prime-time player in international competition, a staple on Team Canada’s various rosters for Olympic and Canada Cup competitions.

“With his leadership and determination, with his devotion to the team concept, with his refusal to accept anything less than the best, Steve Yzerman became the symbol of the Detroit Red Wings’ standard of excellence in the modern era,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in a statement. “The National Hockey League is grateful for Steve’s many contributions to the sport, nationally and internationally, and wishes him only good things in the future.”

Yzerman was the NHL’s longest-serving captain, serving in that capacity for a mind-boggling 20 seasons.

He has never been a rah-rah type of captain, although he has been known to deliver the occasional, well-timed motivational speech. No, Yzerman always has been about leading through example, both on and off the ice.

“Leadership is so important,” said Wayne Gretzky, the Phoenix Coyotes coach and NHL great who turned to Yzerman repeatedly for Olympic competition. “I can speak first-hand about that after the disappointment our Canadian Olympic Team had this year. I never realized how much our team would miss the leadership we got from Stevie Yzerman, Mario Lemieux and Al MacInnis when we won the gold medal in 2002. As we were going through that tournament, it became clear to me that we needed one or two more guys to help deflect the pressure of the world stage.

“When you look at the Red Wings and see how Stevie and Chris Chelios help deflect the pressure of the situation from everyone else on the team, it makes it so much easier for the other guys — Nicklas Lidstrom, Brendan Shanahan, Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby and the rest. Those ultimate skills and leadership qualities … you can’t underestimate teams that have that in place.”

“When I first got here, I was in awe of him, and my buddies back in Toronto couldn’t believe I was his teammate,” Kirk Maltby told reporters recently. “But I quickly found out that he’s just an easy-going, approachable guy, whether you’re a young kid trying to make it or a veteran star.”

And, once the puck drops, he is the definition of a leader.

During the 1987-88 season, he began an electrifying streak of six straight 100-plus point seasons. In 1996-97, he led the team to its first Stanley Cup in more than 40 years. The next year, another Cup followed. In 2002, he added a third Stanley Cup ring to his collection.

Through it all — the incredible highs and the unspeakable lows — Yzerman played the game with a grace and humility that captured the hearts of the region’s passionate puckheads. He could always be counted on for the big goal, the perfect pass, the faceoff win, the defensive wizardry that saw Detroit through a tight time.

Way back when, Yzerman made the NHL All-Rookie Team and over the years accumulated quite the trophy case. He won the Lester Pearson Award as the NHLPA’s most valuable player in 1989, the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 1998, an NHL First Team All-Star in 2000, the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward in 2000, the Bill Masterton for sportsmanship, perseverance and dedication to hockey in 2003 and was named to 10 NHL All-Star Games.

But his greatest accomplishment was a hat trick of Stanley Cups, won in 1997, ‘98 and ‘02.

“It was Gordie Howe and then Wayne Gretzky, but at an age of about 12 or 13 Steve Yzerman came into the League, and me being from Detroit, I just took a huge liking to his game and we were both centermen,” St. Louis veteran Doug Weight said. “And I just followed his career real closely after that.”

Yzerman will certainly be a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee and it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising to never see another player wear No. 19 for the Red Wings again.

Yzerman has battled serious injuries over his last few seasons, including serious knee surgery, a bad eye injury and assorted other maladies that conspired to keep him from peak performance on the ice. Last season, he appeared in 61 games, scoring 14 goals and 20 assists.

So, it’s not surprising Yzerman, who is now 41, thought about hanging up the skates for good this past fall. At the time, he could not play to the high level he demanded of himself, could not deliver the game-changing plays that he had made his calling cards during two decades as the Wings’ captain.

He saw contemporaries — players like Scott Stevens, Mark Messier, Ron Francis and Dave Andreychuk — walk away willingly or be forced from the game. He feared that he would be next to meet that fate.

“For a little while I did (consider retiring),” said Yzerman. “It was difficult to get going, late November, early December. It was a struggle for a little while and it was something to consider.”

Steve Yzerman celebrates his 500th career goal in 1996.
Detroit coach Mike Babcock believes Yzerman is among the all-time greats, as well as a huge reason that Detroit won the Presidents’ Trophy this season as the League’s best regular-season team.

“When you don’t see him every day, you don’t notice him as much,” Babcock said. “But now that I’ve seen him up close on a daily basis, I think he’s phenomenal, and he’s in the conversation with anybody that has played this game.”

“Early in my career, (I’d) be extremely nervous, where I found myself always extremely nervous without a lot of experience,” said Yzerman. “I found in the last few years I’ve just gotten much more comfortable and you kind of know what to expect and you know what it’s all about.”

And now, he knows it is time to move on.