Greatest man in hockey ever-- Steve

[WF19]

Seriously though, Gretzky,Howe,Orr all these all team leaders the are no Yzerman. Here's why.

Gets drafted to the Dead Wings, everyone knows the story there and his legacy right behind Howe.

Leaves the wings to become Gm of Tampa. Turns out guy is insane with the draft and pretty good at deals. Builds a perrenial powerhouse in Tampa who is a game away from back to backs and also crazy because Tampa is not an old team either.

Wings goto the basement. Yzerman steps down in Tampa to conviently move to Detroit.

In the worst kept secret, he signs on with the Wings. Says be patient, ill get us in a good spot, sheds salary everywhere, loads up in picks, makes a couple beauty deals and the turnaround has begun.

Pulls Seider out of nowhere and how exciting is this? Could go Wallstedt this year. Could have a lotto pick but already wayyyyy better prospects we have had since Holland.

They guy has Trophies, Cups,Hall of fame, number retired, Gm of of Team Canada gold medals, Tampa Bay may be back to back cup winners and he is clearly on his way with the Wings.

Revives the Wings as a player to being the leader of one of the greatest teams in history.
Sees them struggling to see if he can bring them back a second time back to Hockeytown.

Steve Yzerman- GOAT.

You can argue it but who else has done that?
If he wins a cup with Detroit the guy is Greatest All time name in hockey

Click to read more...

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Seriously though, Gretzky,Howe,Orr all these all team leaders the are no Yzerman. Here's why.

Gets drafted to the Dead Wings, everyone knows the story there and his legacy right behind Howe.

Leaves the wings to become Gm of Tampa. Turns out guy is insane with the draft and pretty good at deals. Builds a perrenial powerhouse in Tampa who is a game away from back to backs and also crazy because Tampa is not an old team either.

Wings goto the basement. Yzerman steps down in Tampa to conviently move to Detroit.

In the worst kept secret, he signs on with the Wings. Says be patient, ill get us in a good spot, sheds salary everywhere, loads up in picks, makes a couple beauty deals and the turnaround has begun.

Pulls Seider out of nowhere and how exciting is this? Could go Wallstedt this year. Could have a lotto pick but already wayyyyy better prospects we have had since Holland.

They guy has Trophies, Cups,Hall of fame, number retired, Gm of of Team Canada gold medals, Tampa Bay may be back to back cup winners and he is clearly on his way with the Wings.

Revives the Wings as a player to being the leader of one of the greatest teams in history.
Sees them struggling to see if he can bring them back a second time back to Hockeytown.

Steve Yzerman- GOAT.

You can argue it but who else has done that?
If he wins a cup with Detroit the guy is Greatest All time name in hockey

Are you drunk?

 

[jkutswings]

Are you drunk?

I think they're just arguing the impressive combination of on- and off-ice contribution to the sport. And if Tampa wins one or more additional Cups, and Detroit eventually follows suit, he has a point.

Still a long ways off from that, but I follow the intent.

 

[bearball]

He is like the Johan Cruyff of Hockey. Not the very best in terms of the pantheon of players (although still very, very good and in the conversation in terms of the upper echelon) but in terms of impact on the game as a whole whilst both playing and in an off ice capacity, there will probably be few to match him by the time he is done.

 

[WF19]

Are you drunk?

Canadian ane i like my edibles lol but yes i was meaning on/ off ice contribution. If Detroit eventually wins another under Yzerman it would be pretty impressive. No person in any other sport would have the same success in so many areas.

 

[stillwater]

Cocaine is a hell of a drug.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

We all love Yzerman.

 

[JoesuffP]

I just love the way he goes about his business. Always takes the high road. Honestly, he was an inspiration to me growing up and still is to strive for excellence in everything you do

 

[Roomba With a Bauer]

The amazing thing is that Yzerman would have probably been a great coach as well. I think he's actually kind of wasted as a GM.

I think seeing Gretzky fail so hard as a coach kind of scared him off from it.

 

[Bondurant]

He is like the Johan Cruyff of Hockey. Not the very best in terms of the pantheon of players (although still very, very good and in the conversation in terms of the upper echelon) but in terms of impact on the game as a whole whilst both playing and in an off ice capacity, there will probably be few to match him by the time he is done.

You are dramatically underestimating the skill and relevance of Cruyff.

 

[MBH]

Never heard of Cruyff. Guessing it's soccer. So ...

 

[Run the Jewels]

Seriously though, Gretzky,Howe,Orr all these all team leaders the are no Yzerman. Here's why.

Gets drafted to the Dead Wings, everyone knows the story there and his legacy right behind Howe.

Leaves the wings to become Gm of Tampa. Turns out guy is insane with the draft and pretty good at deals. Builds a perrenial powerhouse in Tampa who is a game away from back to backs and also crazy because Tampa is not an old team either.

Wings goto the basement. Yzerman steps down in Tampa to conviently move to Detroit.

In the worst kept secret, he signs on with the Wings. Says be patient, ill get us in a good spot, sheds salary everywhere, loads up in picks, makes a couple beauty deals and the turnaround has begun.

Pulls Seider out of nowhere and how exciting is this? Could go Wallstedt this year. Could have a lotto pick but already wayyyyy better prospects we have had since Holland.

They guy has Trophies, Cups,Hall of fame, number retired, Gm of of Team Canada gold medals, Tampa Bay may be back to back cup winners and he is clearly on his way with the Wings.

Revives the Wings as a player to being the leader of one of the greatest teams in history.
Sees them struggling to see if he can bring them back a second time back to Hockeytown.

Steve Yzerman- GOAT.

You can argue it but who else has done that?
If he wins a cup with Detroit the guy is Greatest All time name in hockey

Don't forget GM for Team Canada at the Olympics. He's got an amazing track record. I am shocked and constantly in awe of the fact he left Tampa to come back to Detroit. That plus his track record is why I am willing to give him 5 years to get this tire fire turned around. If he can get Detroit to where Tampa is right now then he will have good a claim as anyone to be the GOAT.

 

[Run the Jewels]

The amazing thing is that Yzerman would have probably been a great coach as well. I think he's actually kind of wasted as a GM.

I think seeing Gretzky fail so hard as a coach kind of scared him off from it.

Totally disagree, coaching would have likely been a waste of Yzerman's talent. Just look at what he has done with Team Canada - which lots of people could have done - and Tampa, which is not as easy as some here seem to think given Tampa already had Stamkos and Hedman. Yzerman's skills seem to be perfectly suited for being a GM. And if he can build out a management tree - which seems likely - then he's going to be considered one of if not the greatest hockey minds of all time.

We are getting ahead of ourselves as Detroit still has a long way to go, but it is exciting to see what he built in Tampa and how our window could open up in 3-5 years.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Here's an interesting article from back in 2015 about Yzerman.

Desire for competition drives Lightning's Steve Yzerman

 

[Henkka]

IF he will win a Cup as a GM of Detroit, I nothing but agree with everything.

GOAT of all time as a player + executive.

He has won it all at everywhere he touches. After struggling periods, still in the end, will find a way.

 

[TheOtherOne]

If he wins a cup with Detroit the guy is Greatest All time name in hockey

I love it but that there is the biggest goddamn IF in all of sports.

 

[Ed Ned and Leddy]

You are dramatically underestimating the skill and relevance of Cruyff.

I don't think Yzerman will ever match Cruyff in terms of progressing the tactics of the sport forward, but I get where the user was coming from in terms of on and off the field (or ice) impact.

Maybe someone like Ancelotti or Zidane is a more apt comparison.

 

[MBH]

I could get on board with this thread, from a strictly slappy perspective, if he'd said "Greatest Man in Hockey. Ever. Stevie."
But Steve? Not Stevie.
GTFO

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Well, if we're going by "advancing the tactics of the sport forward"...

Wouldn't someone like Glenn Hall and/or Patrick Roy be higher up for introducing and then refining/hybridizing the butterfly style? I mean, now 95+% of goalies use some form of it.

Or Bobby Orr with offensive defensemen?

Or Eddie Martin who was the first one to really rip clapbombs in the very early 1900s (pre-NHL, even) and Boom-Boom Geoffrion who did the same thing for the slapshot that Roy did for the butterfly?

And on the executive side, guys like Bowman or Jacques Lemaire who did that?

Don't get me wrong with all this. Steve Yzerman is f***ing amazing. He truly is one of the best overall as player and executive. But there are many executives far better (so much so that his player accolades don't catch them) and many players better (to where his executive exploits don't make up the gap). Steve Yzerman is a beauty and I'm eternally grateful that I got to see his 20+ year career and see what he's pulled out of his hat as a GM and the team runner for Canada. The Red Wings have been incredibly lucky to have him associated with them and for the majority of teams in the league, Yzerman would be the unassailable best. But Howe is still one of the most recognizable names and jerseys in hockey and he hasn't played consistently in the professional ranks for about 45 years and is no longer with us. Gretzky did the most of any player in the history of the league to grow the game in publicity with the move to LA to get the Kings back on the map. Executives like Bowman did the same thing. Jimmy D, even on the Island, where you had Bowman lead several teams over several eras to greatness. Jimmy D and Al Arbour winning four straight with bigger name teams around.

I mean, I don't know that I would necessarily want to bet against Yzerman taking on whatever greatness he sets his mind on, but let him do it first.

 

[Retire91]

I love the enthusiasm and this is a homer part of the site so bring it on. I spend a lot of time in the history of hockey forums and understand how they rank players and there are several players that have god like abilities above him but I think Yzerman brings a uniqueness in his track record having success at all levels. Lit up juniors, NHL, International play, international executive, and NHL executive. The guy wins at every thing he touches. Looking forward so much to the years to follow.

 

[Fil Larkmanthanasiou]

I'm in it to win it like Yzerman
Could drink about 15 Heinekens

 

[bearball]

You are dramatically underestimating the skill and relevance of Cruyff.

Perhaps, which is unusual for me because outside of Sir Alex Ferguson he is my favourite personality in football.

Not to be misunderstood, all I mean from his skill perspective is that he wasn't Maradona, Messi, Ronaldo, Pele et al. He has an argument to be in the group underneath however. Not quite in the group of the very best ever, but certainly amongst a bunch of names behind them, that is the comparable I draw with SY in terms of playing days.

I think the comparable will be there by the time Stevie is done from an off ice perspective, which doesn't undersell Cruyff's achievements in this area. His fingerprints are all over these Tampa runs and IF he takes this Detroit team and builds something similar from the ashes of what he inherited, I wouldn't hesitate to put his name up there in that vein.