Globe and Mail article
February 1, 2007
by Eric Duhatschek
Link to Article

The perfect metaphor for Steve Yzerman — and the player he eventually turned into - came in the days leading up to the National Hockey League’s 1983 entry draft when Yzerman wasn’t sure about the team that would ultimately select him, and they weren’t exactly sold on him either.

The Red Wings — otherwise known as the Dead Things or the Grey Wings in those sad-sack days — owned the fourth overall pick that year. They coveted a youngster from the Detroit area, one Pat LaFontaine, on the grounds that they needed to rebuild both their team and their franchise and that a local boy might help meet twin needs, on the ice and also in the marketing department.

Read the rest of this entry »