Steve Yzerman told the Grand Rapids Press this week that he is enjoying his current role in management.

“Not at all. I really enjoyed my playing career. It was somewhat sad to retire, but I also was relieved because I knew it was time to retire,” said Yzerman, 42. “I really enjoy being around the game and being part of the organization. I have zero interest in playing the game again.” …

“For me to be around them and see how they’ve handled things is really beneficial to me,” Yzerman said. “I find it very interesting every day.”

And as a fan of the American Hockey League, Yzerman enjoys attending an occasional Griffins game.

“I know we’re all really pleased with how our players from Grand Rapids developed,” he said. “Our players are here playing in a good system with a good organization, and it’s benefiting us.”

I hated to see Yzerman retire but now that he has, I’m just pleased he has no regrets and has no desire to play anymore.

The Red Wings are now creating a podcast and the first participant was none other than former captain Steve Yzerman. You can download the MP3 file here or you can just click on the play button below to listen to the 15 minute or so long interview.

The Hockey News did a fan shootout with Craig Conroy and one of his answers mentioned that he liked playing against Steve Yzerman.

Which player do you enjoy playing against the most in the NHL?
Chris Brnjas, Fergus, Ont.

Steve Yzerman. He was one of my favorites growing up, and it’s always fun to play against him.

Genevieve Simard, a Canadian skier, was told by her doctors that she needed an osteotomy because of the degenerative condition of her knee in part because of the torn ACL she suffered in 1999. After talking with Steve Yzerman for thirty minutes about the procedure, she decided to have the operation in the hope that she could return to the World Cup circuit.

“That’s why I went ahead and did it,” she told The Canadian Press in a phone interview Monday. “It was really important for me to get an athlete’s perspective and to know how he did and how was his rehabilitation. That sort of clinched the deal.” …

“It’s not changing the damage to your knee,” he said. “It’s going to make it more comfortable for you do what you’re trying to do. It should, in the longer term, help your knee.”

Yzerman admitted the operation is “kind of scary.”

“They basically sawed my leg in half,” he said. “When I woke up, I thought ‘What was I thinking. Why did I do this.’ In the end I’m glad I did do this.”

Soon after Yzerman’s retirement ceremony on January 2nd, I read that the Wings and FSN were planning on making a retirement ceremony DVD. Unfortunately, it sounds like those plans have fallen apart and we likely will not see a DVD in the future. I find this frustrating since we all know how well that DVD would do, particularly here in Michigan.

Tom Grassano, Bronx, N.Y.: I am very confused as to why the Detroit Red Wings organization has not honored Steve Yzerman with a DVD commemorating his career.

Living in NYC when Messier retired, the DVD was presented for pre-order during his retirement ceremony and available a few weeks after. I am still ready to buy one for Yzerman, as I’m sure thousands of people are. What’s the problem?

Helene St. James, Free Press sports writer: I asked John Hahn, the team’s senior director of communications, about an Yzerman retirement ceremony dvd. Here is his reply: “It’s not something the Red Wings could have done on their own. We would have had to partner with the league and Warner Home Videos through their contracts. At the end of the day, we didn’t do it.”

On November 1st, Steve Yzerman will make an appearance at the Grand Rapids Griffins game, which starts at 6pm. The Griffins are the Detroit Red Wings’ AHL affiliate.

Steve Yzerman will be on the ice during the first intermission to kick off the Fifth Third Bank Stick Drive for the Griffins Youth Foundation.

Want to buy tickets to the game? Visit this website.

USA Today columnist Kevin Allen believes that one of the many reasons why the Detroit Red Wings can’t sellout is linked to the retirement of No. 19.

The Captain retired: Other than Gordie Howe, no other Red Wing in team history has been as popular as Steve Yzerman. He was the face of the team for two decades, and fans felt his absence dramatically last season. Some realized they had come to see the Yzerman-led Red Wings. Nick Lidstrom is a Hall of Fame-bound player, but the Lidstrom-led Red Wings don’t have the same esprit de corps. Clearly some of Yzerman’s fans have left the building.

Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock sees some of Yzerman’s style in Henrik Zetteberg’s play. Zetterberg currently leads the league in offensive points with 17.

In many ways, Babcock feels Zetterberg’s overall game is patterned after Steve Yzerman’s.

And although Yzerman was a prolific scorer early in his career, it wasn’t until he dialed down his offense and took on a more defensive role that the Wings transformed into a championship team.

Zetterberg’s talents on defense make the Wings stronger.

Of Zetterberg, Babcock said: “He’s one of the best two-way forwards in the game, bar none.”

In honor of Maurice Richard (aka The Rocket) and his 50th anniversary of scoring 500 goals, the NHL made videos commemorating other NHL players who had reached that elite status. Here’s Yzerman’s clip (after the brief commercial):

According to Bob Duff at the Windsor Star, the retirement of captain Steve Yzerman is one of the reasons why the support for the Red Wings is waning in Detroit.

In the past couple of seasons, the Wings have bid adieu to some of the most colourful players to play for the team during its successful run that led to titles in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 2001-02. Leamington’s Darren McCarty and Brett Hull departed. Brendan Shanahan followed. Finally and most damaging, Steve Yzerman retired.

The captain was so beloved by fans of this team that they’d have packed the place to watch him chase the puck with the aid of a walker.

“I think when Stevie left, it was a factor,” agreed defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom, who replaced Yzerman as captain.