NHL.com article
April 5, 2007
by Shawn P. Roarke
Red Wings’ great Steve Yzerman is one of the most-respected players in the NHL’s long history.
Steve Yzerman didn’t need a Stanley Cup championship to be considered a great player and leader.
But the Stanley Cup he won in 1997, and the two that followed in 1998 and 2002, certainly didn’t hurt Yzerman’s Hall of Fame-worthy resume.
In fact, those titles most likely turned a quiet star and exceptional leader in Detroit into an international hockey icon. Even Yzerman acknowledges the role those championships play in the perceptions about him.
“If you play well and win, you’re a heck of a leader,” he once said. “You don’t win, you’re an OK leader. If you don’t play well and you don’t win, you’re a lousy leader.”
