The Detroit Red Wings defeated fellow Central Division and Original 6 team, the Chicago Blackhawks, last night at the Joe, 6-4. The following Wings scored (in order of goals): Pavel Datsyuk, Steve Yzerman, Mark Mowers, Henrik Zetterberg, Kris Draper, and Yzerman. Want to know more about what happened in the game? Read On the Wings’ and Abel to Yzerman’s game recaps.Aside from a Wings win, Chelios had another reason to celebrate yesterday. His son, Dean, had two assists in the Division 3 state championsip game, which his team won 4-0. Dean is a junior at my high school’s rival school, Cranbrook. My high school’s men’s basketball team won it’s district final game, 103-57, and will play next on March 15. It’s so weird being an alum and not at these games. Anyways, go Yellowjackets!
Okay, back to hockey. After coming close to scoring a hat trick last night, plenty of people have something to say about my favorite hockey player, The Captain. Here’s a collection of what they all had to say…
Steve Yzerman scored two goals (one a power play) for the Wings to lead the way. It was Yzerman’s first two-goal game of the season.”I just hope he can continue to get better,” said coach Mike Babcock of Yzerman, who raised his season total to nine goals. “He’s going to help us obviously. Guys want him to do well.”
Yzerman’s first goal, on a nice pass from Robert Lang, gave the Wings a brief 2-1 lead in the first period, and was one of the nicer goals of the night. “It was a great pass from Robert and I wasn’t really expecting it,” Yzerman said. “But it was nice for it to go in.”
Chicago captain Martin Lapointe, a former Red Wing, admired Yzerman’s performance. “He works so hard on every shift,” Lapointe said. “He keeps battling, blocking shots, he just plays so hard. I’m sure his body aches every morning he wakes up. But he just leads his team. It’s pretty to watch.”
Chicago coach Trent Yawney expects more from Yzerman after that.”He’s still one of the best leaders in the game,” Yawney said. “I wouldn’t judge him by what he’s done so far this year in terms of statistics, but I would watch in the playoffs what he does for this team.”
The first note I made after the 1st intermission was that Steve Yzerman looks very good. He’s moving better and he’s driving to the net more. Also, The Captain has turned into a mucker. He’s hanging around the crease, taking cross checks, waiting for dirty rebounds. We still see the patented pull-up along the wing, but more and more it seems he’s created a role for himself closer to the net.
Yzerman, who appears re-energized of late, continued the onslaught by scoring his second goal of the game with 7.2 seconds to play in the period during a two-man advantage. It was his ninth goal of the season.”He can continue to get better,” Babcock said. “I don’t know if he was necessarily better than he has been, except that he scored a couple of goals. The better he gets, it’s going to help us. The guys want him to do well.”
“It was nice to see,” Mowers said of Yzerman’s performance. “We know he can score some goals. I expect it’s going to happen more often towards the end of the season.”
On Yzerman’s first goal, he tapped in a sweet feed from Robert Lang after rookie defenseman Dustin Byfuglien lost the future Hall of Famer in front.“It was nice to see one go in, but Khabibulin almost made the save,” Yzerman said.
Rob at The Cheap Seats reflects on a “Vintage Stevie” moment.
It was a vintage Steve Yzerman goal, the kind that Wings fans might have taken for granted 10 or 15 years ago. After all, back then these moments were a dime a dozen.
Back then the Captain’s legs were fresher, his ice time was more abundant and the load he carried for the Detroit Red Wings was significantly heavier. And, for just a moment, it felt like old times.
Of course, it’s not old times. It’s 2005, and the post-lockout NHL is built for speedy youngsters, not wily veterans. This is Yzerman’s 22nd NHL season, his 20th as Detroit’s captain. He’s played the game of hockey, and played it hard, for a very long time, and it has taken it’s toll. There have been herniated discs in his neck, a fractured orbital bone and, most troubling, a ravaged knee, first injured in 1988 and nagging ever since. And those are just the marquee injuries–only the trainers know how many other bumps and bruises there have been along the way.
Detroit Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman phoned Wayne Gretzky last night asking that he withdraw his name from the roster for the 2006 Olympics. The upcoming Winter Olympics will take place at Torino, Italy. “I talked to Wayne the other night and told him I didn’t feel I was playing well enough to hold one of 13 spots,” Yzerman told Sportsnet, referring to Team Canada general manager Wayne Gretzky. “I’m very grateful for past opportunities representing my country, but there’s too many good players playing too well for me to hold a spot on the roster.”
Wings spokesman, John Hahn, confirmed this report that Yzerman will not be playing for Team Canada. Yzerman helped Canada win a gold medal in 2002 when the Winter Olympics took place in Salt Lake City and became only one of three to win the Stanley Cup and Olympic gold medal in the same season (teammate Brendan Shanahan was another).
I was very pleased with Yzerman’s decision and not surprised whatsoever. I kept reading about people griping about how Yzerman will take a spot of one of the up and coming players, who would have a bigger impact on the team, and that he is being selfish about the whole ordeal. Give Yzerman credit. He is the classiest athlete I know, well have read about, and I’m just happy people around the country (well US and Canada) will finally see that and accept that. Yzerman has always done the best for his team, not himself. And this is just one of many examples backing that statement up. I had expected Yzerman to turn down the offer to play in the 2006 Olympics because he realized that he couldn’t play the same and while his leadership is invaluable, he couldn’t impact the team in ways other younger players could.
So please, everyone, lighten up on The Captain. He’s not going to retire during this season, unless something crazy happens. He’s missing a couple of games here and there to give his knee and body a breather not because the coach is benching him. You can’t expect a 40 year old player to put up the numbers and time he did when he was 21. Enjoy the rest of the season that we have here with one of the best hockey players of all time.
USA Today article
September 19, 2005
by Kevin Allen
Even though Team Canada boss Wayne Gretzky has said Steve Yzerman is on the 2006 Torino Olympic team if he is healthy, Yzerman’s pride prevents him from accepting that verdict.
“If I don’t play well, I don’t think I will be on the Olympic team because there are too many good players,” he said.
At 40, Yzerman is coming back for his 22nd NHL season, and it isn’t to be a role player. Yzerman has endured such high-profile health issues over the last few years — including a scary eye injury in the 2004 playoffs — that it’s easy to forget he needed radical leg surgery to save his career three years ago.
In 2003-04 he had 18 goals and 33 assists in 75 games. With Pavel Datsyuk possibly playing in Russia this season, Yzerman’s good health looks even more crucial to a Detroit Red Wings team that has lost depth because of the salary cap.
Yzerman, who will wear a visor because of his eye injury, said he is “pleasantly surprised” at how good he feels. When he went to the Canadian Olympic orientation camp, he said, he felt as if he “got around the ice pretty good.”
Detroit News’ article
October 13, 2005
by Tenisha Mercer
Source: The Detroit News
It’s a marketing match made in hockey heaven.
Warren-based Art Van Furniture Inc. is expanding its home furnishings line featuring Detroit Red Wings Captain Steve Yzerman to include 40 contemporary designs. The Icon line is part of the chain’s Steve Yzerman Official Collection that debuted last week.
“Steve Yzerman is a legend in his own time, and we thought it would be a perfect tie-in,” said Cathy DiSante, marketing director for Art Van. “Steve is an icon and respected, so we thought he would be the perfect partner to come out with a collection of furniture.”
Art Van rolled out the Yzerman line in fall 2003 with just a handful of products, mostly bedroom and dining room furniture. But growing interest in the line, most of which carries a solid brass steel logo, prompted the chain to expand the collection this fall to include more contemporary, upscale designs, DiSante said. The furniture ranges in cost from $400 to $2,400.
USA Today article
September 20, 2005
by Kevin Allen
Even though Team Canada boss Wayne Gretzky has said Steve Yzerman is on the 2006 Torino Olympic team if he is healthy, Yzerman’s pride prevents him from accepting that verdict.
“If I don’t play well, I don’t think I will be on the Olympic team because there are too many good players,” he said.
At 40, Yzerman is coming back for his 22nd NHL season, and it isn’t to be a role player. Yzerman has endured such high-profile health issues over the last few years — including a scary eye injury in the 2004 playoffs — that it’s easy to forget he needed radical leg surgery to save his career three years ago.
Yzerman stays in Detroit for one more year
Steve Yzerman will remain as the Wings captain for his 19th year. He can’t rule out a 20th year, but most likely Yzerman will help link the Stanley Cup/lots of money/Hall of Famers era to the salary cap/youthful era. “I’m hesitant to say it’s my last year,” Yzerman said, chuckling, “but I have to be realistic.” While this may be his last year out on the ice, Yzerman sees himself in a management position down the road. “My goal is to one day run a hockey team, to be the guy responsible for putting everybody in place, for signing players to contracts,” Yzerman said.
While details of the contract haven’t been released, The Detroit News reports that Yzerman will earn $1.75 million with bonuses reaching $2 million.
“I spent a lot of time thinking about it, going back and forth, and in the end, I just felt if I didn’t come back, I’d be wondering if I could’ve played,” Yzerman said Tuesday from his Canada vacation home. “I wanted to give it my best shot. I’m not afraid of the challenge, and this year, there’s a lot to try and accomplish. I wanted to see if we could correct some areas and have better feelings than we had two years ago.”
The decision was a challenging one for Yzerman, who rented ice time Tuesday - his first time since March. He will participate in the Team Canada’s Olympic training camp on August 14th. “I went through periods when I thought, this is tough, I’m too old to do this stuff, maybe it is time to retire,” Yzerman said. “But then there were periods when I felt good and energetic. What it came down to was, Kenny and Jimmy D. expressed they really wanted me to be part of the team. If I felt they were jammed on the cap, I’d have moved on. Now I’m excited about playing again.”
While Yzerman understands that the landscape of the Wings will ultimately be different, he believes that the team will remain a Stanley Cup contender. “Our team is going to be good,” he said. “You add a couple of young guys like (Niklas) Kronwall and a few free agents and I expect us to be a strong team. I don’t know about favorites, because I think Tampa Bay and Philadelphia are real strong. But I expect the Red Wings to be Stanley Cup contenders.”
Yzerman has already talked to Babcock and his role on the team will be worked out over time. He believes that he’ll be playing more on the wing likely with Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby.
In the contract, there are clauses that would “reduce the cap impact if he misses games,” but he doesn’t expect to miss much. “My approach is, I’m not just trying to survive, I want to be a good player, but I’m prepared to accept any role,” Yzerman said. “I don’t expect any handouts. Sure, the fans may want to see familiar faces, but then they’re gonna want to see performance, and if the familiar faces aren’t performing, they won’t be happy.”
The Detroit News reports that Steve Yzerman has been offered a one year contract earlier today at lunch.
Steve Yzerman could officially be back with the Red Wings by Saturday. Yzerman, 40, was offered a one-year contract by the Red Wings Wednesday at a Toronto lunch with general manager Ken Holland and senior vice-president Jimmy Devellano. Financial terms of the offer were not disclosed. “We offered Steve a one-year contract and he said he’ll get back to us by the end of the week,” Holland said.
The Wings are likely to make some sort of announcement at Saturday’s NHL entry draft in Ottawa. The Wings had hoped to have an answer from Yzerman before the unrestricted free-agent period begins Monday.
Holland believes Yzerman can be a significant addition to the Wings this season. “I want Steve to play this year,” Holland said. “With the new coaching staff, he can be a tremendous asset to the coaches with his leadership in the locker room. He has some great hockey left in him.”
In other news, Darren McCarty has made a five paragraph open letter to the fans.
Darren McCarty may no longer be a Red Wing, but in an open letter to Detroit fans, he says his heart will always be with the team, and Detroit will remain his home.
“Please don’t shed a tear ’cause it’s over,” McCarty says in the five-paragraph open letter, obtained Wednesday by the Free Press. “Crack a smile ’cause it happened, and no one can ever take that away.”
The 33-year-old forward, who was on three Stanley Cup championship teams with the Wings, was placed on waivers Monday, and his contract was bought out by the team on Tuesday.
In the letter, signed with his name and the number he wore for the Wings, McCarty said “looking back, what I really feel is gratitude — thankful for the opportunity to realize a childhood dream to play for my childhood team.”
You can read the entire letter to fans tomorrow in the Detroit Free Press.
I’m not one much for rumors, but Kuklas Korner has heard from a source that Barry Smith will not remain as assistant coach for the Wings. It appears that Kocur will be offered some position within the organization, but no longer as assistant coach.
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