Sports Illustrated article
Jun 22, 1998
by Michael Farber

Led by the stellar all-around play of their captain, Steve Yzerman, the Detroit Red Wings were flashing their championship form against the overmatched Washington Capitals…

STEVE YZERMAN grabbed the puck and rushed down the left wing, carrying Washington Capitals center Esa Tikkanen on his back for the last 30 feet the same way he had carried the Detroit Red Wings for 15 seasons. Whether it’s the weight of a franchise or 200 pounds of fractious Finn, Yzerman, the Detroit captain, never has been afraid of heavy lifting. When Yzerman and his chaperone fell in a heap and rammed into Capitals goalie Olaf Kolzig, the puck squirted free. Red Wings forward Tomas Holmstrom swooped in unattended and put the puck home, just 35 seconds into Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals. That’s Washington: first in war, first in peace, lousy in the first minute.

Read the rest of this entry »

USA Today article
June 16, 1998
by Kevin Allen

Only one Detroit Red Wings player would lampoon Steve Yzerman’s leadership mystique, and that’s Yzerman himself.

Asked he what he does in his role as the NHL’s longest-serving captain, Yzerman says with a smirk, “To be honest with you, very
little, in my opinion.”

That opinion isn’t shared in any other corner at the Stanley Cup Finals. If Detroit wins the Stanley Cup, Yzerman, the postseason
scoring leader, is the overwhelming favorite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Detroit center Kris Draper says there’s “no doubt” Yzerman will win the award. “He’s among our best players every night,” Draper
says.

Read the rest of this entry »

Associated Press article
June 15, 1998

His face has been shoved in the ice, he has been cross-checked in the back, slammed into the boards and knocked to the ice countless times.

Every time the Washington Capitals have had the opportunity to hit Steve Yzerman in the Stanley Cup Finals, they’ve done it. But the Detroit Red Wings captain has gotten up every time and made the Capitals pay, much like he has made every opponent pay in the playoffs this season.

Yzerman’s play has put the Red Wings within a game of capturing their second straight Stanley Cup on Tuesday night. His league-leading 24 points (6 goals, 18 assists) also has put the 33-year-old on the verge of winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs.

Typically, Yzerman downplayed the possibility of winning the award on Monday, noting that goaltender Chris Osgood and defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom were also good candidates. That’s the kind of response that defenseman Viacheslav Fetisov’s expects from the teammate he calls a “class act.”

“You can see how he is willing to compete and fight on every shift on the ice,” Fetisov said. “Even when he makes a mistake, you can see the expression on his face, everyone knows he is unhappy and will fix it.

“It’s tough to shut down these kinds of guys. They never stop. They never quit. It’s amazing. He is not the biggest guy in hockey, but his heart and his soul everybody in this room feels, and we try to follow him.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Associated Press article
June 15, 1998
View article at CNNSI

Steve Yzerman won his second Stanley Cup and his first Conn Smythe Trophy on Tuesday night.

Once called a player who couldn’t lead his team to victory in the big games, Yzerman was finally officially recognized as the most valuable player of the playoffs with his strong all-around contribution.

“No one has ever deserved the Conn Smythe more,” teammate Brendan Shanahan said. “He carried our team through the playoffs just like a captain should.”

Read the rest of this entry »

June 15, 1998

Flash back 15 years, back into the realm of what-might-have-been. A wispy, physically unassuming 18-year-old centerman from suburban Ottawa expects to be drafted fourth overall by Detroit, a possibility he finds quite pleasant.

But upon further reflection he wishes there is a way fate could somehow sweep him to the third pick and to the team he adored his entire life.

“I grew up loving the New York Islanders ever since they first joined the league,” Steve Yzerman says. “And now that I think about it, yeah, it would have been pretty exciting to go to your favorite team as a child.

“Bryan Trottier was my hero growing up. That’s who I patterned myself after. He’s the reason why I wear No. 19.”

Read the rest of this entry »

The New York Times article
June 9, 1998
by Joe LaPointe

After 15 seasons in the National Hockey League, most of them as captain of the Detroit Red Wings, Steve Yzerman has earned a few perks. One of them is a private hotel room on the road. So he was surprised one night this spring to discover goalie Chris Osgood in the next bed.

“I’ve been Chris’s roommate through the playoffs, watching how he handles himself,” Yzerman said today on the eve of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals between the Red Wings the Washington Capitals. “It definitely wasn’t my idea. I wasn’t too happy because I had a single room going into the playoffs. It just worked out. I don’t think there was any design behind it.”

Read the rest of this entry »

The Sporting News article
April 13, 1998
by Larry Wigge

Stunned by tragedy last summer, the Red Wings had every reason to quit, but Steve Yzerman wouldn’t let them. As a result they can’t be counted out in their pursuit of a second straight Stanley Cup.

He looks you straight in the eye and chooses his words very carefully. He is not an amateur psychologist, but he has learned that if you look away from someone he might think you are hiding something. So, Steve Yzerman’s eyes never waver. Never.

Yzerman, the heart and soul of the Red Wings for 15 years, still has a wry sense of humor and is a pleasure to be around. But life has made him more than just a better leader, a better captain, than in years past. It also has made him a better man. Especially since this time a year ago, when he and his teammates were trying to win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in more than four decades.

Read the rest of this entry »