SI.com column
January 3, 2007
by Brian Cazeneuve

Start with a day at the Montreal Forum in 1983, when Jim Devellano, then the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, was still trying to convince his staff, his owner, local reporters and anyone who would buy it that the wisp he had just entrusted with his team’s future really weighed 160 pounds — sure, maybe with Canadian conversion or dipped in molasses or toting some school books that seemed to complement his 12-year-old face.

Had the Red Wings really spent the fourth overall pick in the NHL draft on someone who looked like he was only a few years removed from baby fat?

That people needed convincing that Steve Yzerman was bigger than they imagined was only a distant memory on Tuesday night, as the Captain’s No. 19 was raised to the top of Joe Louis Arena. Yzerman, one of the great warriors and leaders in the history of the game, spent the better part of his reluctant acceptance speech trying to undo a perception that he took 22 glorious years to build. Who else, but Yzerman, could try to convince anyone that he wasn’t nearly so big after all?

“My image as a great leader is greatly overblown,” he told a dissenting audience. “I realize that because I played with some of the greatest hockey players in the league. All I did was play like they did. I did nothing different than them.”

Yzerman’s personal success was astounding. He recorded 1,755 points (sixth all-time) in the regular season and 185 in the playoffs, despite missing large chunks of seasons because of knee surgeries.

The boy captain served the only NHL sweater he ever wore for a record 20 seasons. In the mid-90s under head coach Scotty Bowman, Yzerman pulled off a remarkable transformation from highlight-reel artist with gaudy stats rather than championships to a winner who backchecked, won faceoffs, killed penalties and mastered the subtleties of success.

Eleven years after he amassed 155 points in one season, Yzerman won the Frank Selke Trophy as the NHL’s top defensive forward in 2000. Even when the baby face hadn’t quite worn away, he played through pain, stuck his nose into scrums and commanded off-ice respect of teammates who never crossed him.

In leading Detroit to the Stanley Cup in 1997, 1998 and 2002, Yzerman often deflected praise and absorbed responsibility with such class that the team’s amazing roster of future Hall-of-Famers (Brett Hull, Nicklas Lidstrom, Dominik Hasek, Igor Larionov, Chris Chelios, Brendan Shanahan, Larry Murphy, Luc Robitaille) and grinders (Darren McCarty, Joe Kocur, Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby) reflexively deferred to him.

The deference and festivity lasted all of Tuesday. In the morning, Yzerman received a key to the city and had the corner of Atwater and 3rd Streets, by the entrance to Joe Louis Arena, renamed Steve Yzerman Drive.

The master of ceremonies at the evening event, goaltender-turned–broadcaster Darren Pang — Yzerman’s best friend — introduced Red Wings legends Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and Alex Delvecchio, as well relatives of another two: Terry Sawchuk’s grandson, Jonathan, and Sid Abel’s son, Jerry. Their numbers, lowered for the ceremony, were re-raised to the arena rafters.

Pang then introduced several former Wings who played with and coached Yzerman, starting with the only captain he ever played under — ready, trivia buffs — Danny Gare. Then followed Kevin Hodson, Mike Vernon, Larry Murphy, Steve Duchesne, Bob Probert, Vladimir Konstantinov (using a walker rather than a wheelchair), Joe Kocur, Brent Gilchrist, Brett Hull, Igor Larionov and coaches Jacques Demers, Barry Smith, Dave Lewis and Scotty Bowman.

The present Wings then skated onto the ice, each wearing one of four No. 19 Yzerman jerseys from teams he represented: the Peterborough Petes — his junior team in Ontario; the Campbell Conference he represented in 10 All-Star games before the divisions became geographic directionals; and Team Canada, which he led to an Olympic gold medal in 2002; and the Red Wings.

To the tune of Tina Turner’s Simply the Best, a video montage followed, including photos of an infant in a crib (just a tad younger than he seemed on draft day), a scene of Yzerman shoving future teammate Chelios when the scrappy blueliner played in Chicago; a picture of Yzerman handing the Stanley Cup to a chair-bound Konstantinov; the captain sharing the Cup with David Letterman, Regis Philbin, Bill Clinton and ordinary placard-waving fans along a Michigan parade route. “Yzerman for President” one sign read.

The fans reserved their loudest cheers for a highlight reel of memorable goals: the sprawling sideways no-look flip for No. 400; the bank shot for No. 600; the arcing flip shot straight over backpedaling and befuddled All-Star Kevin Lowe; the overtime backbreaker against Curtis Joseph and the Blues.

Several speakers praised Yzerman’s contributions and leadership. “So many potential day-to-day problems never got to my doorstep because of Steve Yzerman,” said Bowman. “And no player I ever coached could play with his pain threshold.”

Current captain Nick Lidstrom presented Yzerman, a soccer aficionado, with a trip to Vienna, Austria to see the European Cup final next year. Devellano read off several of the trophies that Yzerman and the Wings won, as spotlights around the ice highlighted each. Owner Mike Ilitch recalled a three-hour heart-to-heart at his home with a young Yzerman as his family’s guest.

“He was one of the most mature young men we’ve ever met,” Ilitch said, “not just as an athlete, but as a human being. . . He walked the walk and avoided the talk. He led without arrogance or self-indulgence. Steve is the role model all other athletes should strive to be.”

When Yzerman took his turn to speak, he did so without prompting or notes and often choked as he fought his words. He paid heartfelt tributes to his wife, Lisa (”my best friend and part-time psychologist”) and three daughters; to Bowman; to the other five Wings with retired jerseys (”the way we can thank them is to play the way they did and to respect the logo the way they did”), to management and fans, teammates such as Probert and Gare who never got to carry the Cup with him; and those who did. He even thanked the Anaheim Ducks for their patience in waiting out the hour-long ceremony.

“Steve never liked taking a lot of credit for himself,” Bowman said later. “He was so responsible in the dressing room, it was like having another coach.”

Hull, who enjoyed his own retirement ceremony in St. Louis earlier this season, recalled his teammate fondly. “He’s not only the heart and soul of the Red Wings,” Hull said, “he’s the heart and soul of the NHL. I was friends with Wayne Gretzky when I came to Detroit and I didn’t know there was someone else in the game who could conduct himself with such class.”

By video, Shanahan, now a New York Ranger, added, “Our kids and our kids’ kids will be talking about Steve Yzerman the way we tossed around names like Gordie Howe and Rocket Richard.”

Wisps really can become giants.