January 3, 2007
by Lyle Richardson @ Spector’s Hockey
On January 2nd, 2007, the Detroit Red Wings and their fans, and hockey fans everywhere, got the chance to say goodbye to Steve Yzerman, one of the greatest players and leaders the NHL has ever seen.
It was a nice touch of CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada to televise last night’s game between the Red Wings and the Anaheim Ducks in which Yzerman’s number 19 was officially retired and raised to the rafters of the Joe Louis Arena.
It was great to see some of the now-retired former teammates of Yzerman’s on hand for this ceremony. Bob Probert and Vladimir Konstantinov received enthusiastic receptions, touching considering everything those two men have gone through.
As much as this was a ceremony to commemorate Yzerman, it was also rather symbolic, as though the Wings were also officially marking the end of an era, not just of Yzerman’s career, but of their tenure as one of the elite teams in the NHL from 1995 to 2004.
Some may wonder why I’m not being critical of this lengthy ceremony for Yzerman compared to Mark Messier’s with the New York Rangers.
The difference, however, is that Yzerman meant much more for the Wings than Messier ever could for the Rangers.
NHL.com article
January 3, 2007
by John McGourty
Link to Article
They retired Steve Yzerman’s No. 19 at Joe Louis Arena Tuesday night, a fitting tribute to the captain of the Detroit Red Wings’ three Stanley Cup championship teams from 1997, 1998 and 2002.
They remembered the three championships, Yzerman’s 692 goals and 1,063 assists in 1,514 NHL games. They remembered his plus-202 career statistic and his 70 goals and 115 assists for 185 points in 196 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Also remembered was Yzerman’s five seasons in which he scored 50 or more goals and his six-straight seasons with 100 or more points. Those with long memories recalled Yzerman leading Canadian Junior A hockey in assists while with the Nepean Raiders and his 91-point season with the 1982-83 Peterborough Petes. That led to Detroit making Yzerman the fourth-overall pick in the 1983 Entry Draft.
MLive.com article
January 2, 2007
by Ansar Khan
Hall of Famers, record-setters and Stanley Cup champions are among the host of great players who’ve donned the Detroit Red Wings jersey the past 81 years. Only a select few earned the privilege of having their number retired and raised to the rafters.
“We aren’t like a lot of teams that just retire sweaters as a PR gimmick or to sell tickets,” Red Wings senior vice president Jimmy Devellano said. “You have to be a very, very special player for that to happen.”
Steve Yzerman was that type of player. A Detroit sports icon who revived a once-proud franchise and was the longest-serving captain in NHL history, Yzerman is referred to by legions of fans as 19. Tonight, that number will be retired and hoisted to the rafters at Joe Louis Arena in what promises to be a special ceremony before the Red Wings play the Anaheim Ducks. The festivities begin at 6:30.
“Aside from the Hall of Fame, this is the next-greatest honor you can get,” Wings defenseman Chris Chelios said. “I know he doesn’t like the limelight or all these personal accolades, but I think he’s got to be very proud of what’s going to happen. I’m nervous for him and at the same time proud of him. What better guy to receive this? It’s going to be a great evening.”
Associated Press article
January 2, 2007
Steve Yzerman’s jersey was hoisted to the rafters and the Detroit Red Wings pulled into a first-place tie with Nashville in the Central Division.
It was a good night in Hockeytown.
Henrik Zetterberg scored the go-ahead goal late in the second period and Detroit held on for a 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night after Yzerman’s No. 19 jersey was retired.
“It certainly helped the festivities that we were able to get out of here with a win,” Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. “We started off sluggish because we were sitting around for more than an hour, but then we played well.
“I’m sure Steve was proud.”
After a ceremony that lasted nearly 1 1/2 hours, Tomas Holmstrom kept the sold-out crowd happy with a power-play goal 1 minute into the second period. Ryan Getzlaf made it 1-all a couple of minutes later while the Ducks had a two-man advantage.
Windsor Star article
January 2, 2007
by Bob Duff
On the brink of his big day, friends, family and former teammates on hand to fete him, a capacity Joe Louis Arena crowd awaiting to embrace him with their warmth, Steve Yzerman spotted a couple of reporters who’d covered him since the early years of his Detroit Red Wings career and stopped to chat.
About the Rose Bowl.
It was so typical Yzeman.
An engaging conversationalist when he wants to be, Yzerman can speak to virtually any topic with some sense of authority.
Except himself.
Calgary Herald article
January 2, 2006
by Jean LeFebvre
The quiet teen from Nepean, Ont., hardly looked like someone with nearly 700 National Hockey League goals in his future.
“Steve was obviously very skilled,” recalled Calgary Hitmen boss Kelly Kisio, “a very good hockey player, but in practice, when he used to take a shot, it looked like he could hardly get it to the net. It was amazing.”
Like Steve Yzerman, Kisio was a Detroit Red Wings rookie in 1983-84, although the latter was six years older. If the Wings — including Ron Duguay, Danny Gare and Reed Larson — were underwhelmed by the kid’s warm-up deliveries, things changed when Yzerman started playing for keeps.
Calgary Herald article
January 2, 2007
by Jean LeFebvre
Link to Article
The quiet teen from Nepean, Ont., hardly looked like someone with nearly 700 National Hockey League goals in his future.
“Steve was obviously very skilled,” recalled Calgary Hitmen boss Kelly Kisio, “a very good hockey player, but in practice, when he used to take a shot, it looked like he could hardly get it to the net. It was amazing.”
Like Steve Yzerman, Kisio was a Detroit Red Wings rookie in 1983-84, although the latter was six years older. If the Wings — including Ron Duguay, Danny Gare and Reed Larson — were underwhelmed by the kid’s warm-up deliveries, things changed when Yzerman started playing for keeps.
Detroit News column
January 1, 2007
by Terry Foster
The debate regarding the true Mr. Red Wing will go on forever. Many older fans say the title belongs to Gordie Howe, who scored 801 NHL goals, led the league in scoring six times and was league MVP six times.
The youngsters throw their support behind Steve Yzerman, who scored 692 goals and led the Wings to three Stanley Cups before retiring after last season.
It’s Mr. Hockey against the Captain.
The newspapers and websites are going all out when it comes to discussing all that is Steve Yzerman before the big event tomorrow evening and I’m not complaining. Here’s what they’re saying…
Plenty of players are remembering their favorite moments with No. 19 as seen in this Detroit News article:
“The guy is a living legend,” said center Sean Avery, a former Wing now with the Los Angeles Kings.
“Some of us were watching the world junior tournament the other day, and you see people talking about him and the players wearing his number and talking about him, and you realize what an impact he made.”
…
“The most fun I had was when we were on the same line because he was easy to read,” said Fedorov, who won three Stanley Cups with Yzerman before signing a free-agent contract with Anaheim in 2003 (Fedorov is now in Columbus).
“He played and skated so well, it was easy to play with him. I scored my first goal with Stevie assisting on it. Those kind of memories stick with you forever.
“(Goalie) Tim Cheveldae passed the puck to the red line and we were able to break down against Slava Fetisov (with New Jersey then) two-on-one, and Steve passed the puck and I had almost an empty net against (goalie) Sean Burke.”
…
Avery’s favorite player growing up was Brett Hull.
“But being around Yzerman on an everyday basis, I went from No. 16 to No. 19,” Avery said. “He’s an amazing player. Just the way he carried himself, the guy was an unbelievable leader.”
Avery switched to No. 19 when he was traded from Detroit to the Kings.
…
“I just happened to pass him in the hallway at the (Centre Ice) rink,” Williams recalled the other day.
“He stopped, shook my hand, introduced himself, and told me to keep working hard and doing what I’d been doing. I couldn’t believe Steve Yzerman knew who I was.”
Williams would become more familiar with Yzerman’s leadership over the years.
“Those first few seasons, whenever I would be sent down (to the minors), Steve would be one of the first guys who would come over and tell me to go down there and work hard, and do my job, and I would eventually be back. It meant a lot to me, it really did; it gave me some confidence.
“And the thing is, he would always know how you did, how you’d been playing. He has a good sense of humor and he’d know you had 15 goals, but he’d remind you about the minus-7, or something like that, too.”
The Associated Press’ article basically mentions all of Yzerman’s big accomplishments over the years and finished with this:
“It’s going to be a good time with all the old friends and former players coming back for it,” said Nicklas Lidstrom, who replaced Yzerman as Detroit’s captain. “Just a great accomplishment for the organization. He’s one of the greatest players ever in the league.
“He just retired last year and already they’re retiring his jersey. That shows you how much the organization thinks of him.”
Lidstrom, who has won four Norris Trophies as the league’s top defenseman, was Yzerman’s teammate for 15 seasons.
Another former Yzerman teammate, Red Wings’ defenseman Chris Chelios, had a two-and-a-half story banner saluting Yzerman placed on the side of his “Cheli’s Chili” restaurant and bar in downtown Detroit, adjacent to Comerica Park.
The Detroit Red Wings organization was hard at work today making sure everything is all set for tomorrow’s big ceremony honoring No. 19.
It was easy to tell today that something big is about to happen at Joe Louis Arena - despite it being New Year’s Day there were dozens of workers present, preparing for tomorrow’s big jersey retirement ceremony for former captain Steve Yzerman. Several red carpets were being vacuumed, and spotlights were being tested.
This is all the information that the Detroit Red Wings website has provided about tomorrow’s event.
A Who’s Who of former Red Wings stars are ready to return to the Motor City on January 2 for the retirement of Steve Yzerman’s No. 19 jersey. The list of former Wings teammates from Yzerman’s career include his predecessor as team captain, Danny Gare, as well as several members of Detroit’s 1997, 1998 and 2002 Stanley Cup Championship teams.
Cup winners scheduled to attend are Brett Hull, Igor Larionov, Mike Vernon, Steve Duchesne, Larry Murphy, Joe Kocur, Doug Brown and the entire coaching staff of Scotty Bowman, Dave Lewis and Barry Smith.Yzerman’s number will join the five retired numbers already hanging from the rafters of Joe Louis Arena, and all will be represented as Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio and Ted Lindsay will attend, while members of the Terry Sawchuk family and the Sid Abel family will be on hand to welcome Yzerman to this elite group.
Fans are reminded that the Joe Louis Arena doors open at 5 p.m. on Jan. 2. They are encouraged to arrive early in order to obtain special Steve Yzerman Night giveaways at the door and to be in their seats for the start of the retirement presentation, which will begin at 6:30 pm.
