Steve Yzerman the player

[Retire91]

The Fedorov thread is fun. What about an equivalent for Yzerman for those that might not have seen prime Yzerman in person? What specifically made him one of the greatest redwings and hockey players ever. Do you have any Yzerman stories? Do you believe that BS about people thinking Sakic was better?

For me the most notable among his countless elite skills was his vision of the ice. I don't think anyone saw the ice better and made quicker and more precise decisions as the play developed. All his quickness shot accuracy and leadership always paled for me when it came to how he saw the game. And so much complete. It was interesting watching him play through the enforcer era where we was untouchable on the ice because the wings had Probert/Kosher.

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[SpookyTsuki]

Yzerman had better offensive production in his prime. and won a selke. If Gretzky and Lemieux didn't exist he would have a hart trophy so I don't see how Sakic is better those people are just fanboys

 

[Beltv]

The only thing Sakic had better was his release on his wrist shot and 2 knees. In my eyes Stevie was better at every faucet of the game. (and looks to be a more accomplished GM over Sakic too xD)

Not my story, but my girlfriend often is on flights from Tampa to Detroit and see Yzerman on the flights and she had said nobody recognizes him like ever. Apparently his family is still here in Detroit?

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

The Fedorov thread is fun. What about an equivalent for Yzerman for those that might not have seen prime Yzerman in person? What specifically made him one of the greatest redwings and hockey players ever. Do you have any Yzerman stories? Do you believe that BS about people thinking Sakic was better?

For me the most notable among his countless elite skills was his vision of the ice. I don't think anyone saw the ice better and made quicker and more precise decisions as the play developed. All his quickness shot accuracy and leadership always paled for me when it came to how he saw the game. And so much complete. It was interesting watching him play through the enforcer era where we was untouchable on the ice because the wings had Probert/Kosher.

Yzerman in his offensive prime? I'd probably say he's kind of like what Patrick Kane would be if he were a center. Yzerman had dangles back in the day and great lateral movement till he messed his knees up.

He wasn't a bruiser or anything, but as you saw later in his career, he was hard as hell to knock off/away from the puck.

 

[Winger98]

Yzerman was a freakishly smooth skater. Before he was The Captain, I remember Mickey calling him Silk on all of the broadcasts because Yzerman was so smooth. His ability to gain the zone and just sort of slide through the defense for a scoring chance was uncanny. If you only caught the last half of his career, it's hard to grasp how wonderful he could skate and how his hands kept up with his legs. He didn't have to slow down to pull a move.

From the cup years on, as his body started to show its wear and tear, he just had aura about him that seemed indomitable. He could still skate well enough, he still had those hands, and could put up his fair share of points, he bulked up the defensive side of his game...but there was something that couldn't be quantified that just filled you with confidence as a fan. I'll put it this way, as a Wings fan, he was everything Mark Messier was supposed to be.

 

[Eye of Ra]

 

[SpookyTsuki]

Yzerman was a freakishly smooth skater. Before he was The Captain, I remember Mickey calling him Silk on all of the broadcasts because Yzerman was so smooth. His ability to gain the zone and just sort of slide through the defense for a scoring chance was uncanny. If you only caught the last half of his career, it's hard to grasp how wonderful he could skate and how his hands kept up with his legs. He didn't have to slow down to pull a move.

From the cup years on, as his body started to show its wear and tear, he just had aura about him that seemed indomitable. He could still skate well enough, he still had those hands, and could put up his fair share of points, he bulked up the defensive side of his game...but there was something that couldn't be quantified that just filled you with confidence as a fan. I'll put it this way, as a Wings fan, he was everything Mark Messier was supposed to be.

It's cause of the 98 cup run. After the Konstantinov accident

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

It's cause of the 98 cup run. After the Konstantinov accident

Eh. I really think it's more because you could see that Yzerman was hurting when he was basically finishing seasons on one leg... and he'd get right back up and be the best player on the ice at a crucial time.

 

[avssuc]

Remember when they brought in the hyperberic chamber to speed recovery of one of his knee injuries? I can't remember the year, but it was mid 90's I think. Outside of all of his physical greatness, it was his dedication that stood out to me. Most of us remember him playing with only one knee, and ending Pronger's season in 2002 on the way to the cup... but that was just his MO. Dude was a legend in every sense.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Remember when they brought in the hyperberic chamber to speed recovery of one of his knee injuries? I can't remember the year, but it was mid 90's I think. Outside of all of his physical greatness, it was his dedication that stood out to me. Most of us remember him playing with only one knee, and ending Pronger's season in 2002 on the way to the cup... but that was just his MO. Dude was a legend in every sense.

That was the first Cup run. 96-97.

And yeah, I saw one of the "Greatest Red Wings Championship teams" videos or something on Youtube and they showed a couple of the games where they showed Stevie barely able to walk... and then he goes out on the ice and just grinds the other team up. Goes down to block a shot and you see him grimace badly... but get up and start a breakaway to lead to a goal.

 

[SpookyTsuki]

That pronger thing was one of my favorite moments of all time. Hahaha

 

[FireBird71]

The only thing Sakic had better was his release on his wrist shot and 2 knees. In my eyes Stevie was better at every faucet of the game. (and looks to be a more accomplished GM over Sakic too xD)

Not my story, but my girlfriend often is on flights from Tampa to Detroit and see Yzerman on the flights and she had said nobody recognizes him like ever. Apparently his family is still here in Detroit?

Wife and daughters still live here...god oldest played lacrosse at Michigan

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

The only thing Sakic had better was his release on his wrist shot and 2 knees. In my eyes Stevie was better at every faucet of the game. (and looks to be a more accomplished GM over Sakic too xD)

Not my story, but my girlfriend often is on flights from Tampa to Detroit and see Yzerman on the flights and she had said nobody recognizes him like ever. Apparently his family is still here in Detroit?

The schools are a lot better in Michigan.

But yes it is talked about whenever the will he return thread comes up that Yzerman still has his home in Bloomfield Hills, it doesn't look like he is ever selling that at this point. Besides a Michigan home goes nice with his off-season.

I am old enough to remember the Stevie Wonder days. Yzerman was an explosive offensive talent. The Wings weren't very good but he could generate offense out of nothing with very little actual talent around him. He was actually always a better two-way forward than he got credit for but he evolved into the phenomenal two-way younger people know. But I always wonder with his knees how much longer breakaway Yzerman would have kept up in the 100s as I bet it is at least a little longer.

 

[Winger98]

The schools are a lot better in Michigan.

But yes it is talked about whenever the will he return thread comes up that Yzerman still has his home in Bloomfield Hills, it doesn't look like he is ever selling that at this point. Besides a Michigan home goes nice with his off-season.

I am old enough to remember the Stevie Wonder days. Yzerman was an explosive offensive talent. The Wings weren't very good but he could generate offense out of nothing with very little actual talent around him. He was actually always a better two-way forward than he got credit for but he evolved into the phenomenal two-way younger people know. But I always wonder with his knees how much longer breakaway Yzerman would have kept up in the 100s as I bet it is at least a little longer.

Putting up 95 points in 95/96 and 85 points the following year, I think he could have definitely kept putting up those 100 point seasons for awhile longer than he did if he had been healthy. Even with his body breaking down, he hovered near PPG right up until the last few years.

 

[silkyjohnson50]

Yzerman's lateral movement was definitely noteworthy. He was great at entering the ozone along the left boards and then just stopping on a dime and creating from there.

In terms of the Sakic debate, it's tough. I think Yzerman at his best was better offensively and defensively, but those two aspects of his game peaked at different times whereas you can say that Sakic's 2-way game peaked together. So at their very best, it's really tight either way.

Sakic also played at a high level for a long time. He has 10 Top 10 point finishes. Only Howe, Gretzky, Bobby Hull, Beliveau, Rocket, Delvecchio, and Jagr have more such seasons. To put it in perspective, Yzerman (6), Fedorov (2), and Shanahan (2) have 10 such seasons combined.

By the late 90s, it was basically hard to discuss or think of Yzerman without Sakic and vice versa. They were both great players, leaders, and played for the two best teams which also happened to have an amazing and heated rivalry. And yet throughout the rivalry, each fan base had a mutual respect for the opposing captain.

If you had to put a gun to my head and choose who I'd rank higher on an all time list, I'd have to give the edge to Sakic. The cherry on top would be that his 96 postseason tops any of Yzerman's, and I say that knowing most of us here seen and have great admiration for Yzerman's 3 Cups and specifically 2002 run on one knee.

Lastly, I'd like to say that one of my favorite Yzerman moments was the first game of his final postseason. Game 1 vs Edmonton. Yzerman was running on E and could barely skate anymore and yet that first game of the playoffs he showed a level to his game that I hadn't seen from him in a while. He was balls to the wall, suddenly able to quickly cut on his skates again, winning puck battles that he couldn't regularly win with consistency anymore, and was in my eyes the best player on the ice. I remember just shaking my head in amazement while also realizing that you knew he knew that this was it.

 

[Syckle78]

Yzerman was the wings. Dude played in every situation because it was our only chance to win. He gets crap for not being good defensively early on but he was. Problem is he had to cheat at times or we weren't going to score. The defense and goaltending was putrid. It was Stevie Y and some face punchers and by god was it fun.

I'll never ever forget the natural hat trick yzerman scored in some random regular season game against the leafs. It pretty much summed up the wings at that time. Yzerman was just on a completely different level than the rest of the team. I chuckle when people talk about players lack of support because it's really, really hard to top the lack of talent he played with at his offensive peak before the injuries took hold and we became a power house.

 

[Beltv]

In 88/89 when Stevie put up 155 points, who was on his line? Oates? Gallant? 155 and the next closest was Gallant at 93...that's a pretty big point gap. lol

 

[Konnan511]

In 88/89 when Stevie put up 155 points, who was on his line? Oates? Gallant? 155 and the next closest was Gallant at 93...that's a pretty big point gap. lol

Oates had one of the highest hockey IQs and passing abilities of all-time.

 

[Beltv]

Oates had one of the highest hockey IQs and passing abilities of all-time.

Oh I know that. But was he on Yzerman's wing or did he center line 2?

 

[Winger98]

Oh I know that. But was he on Yzerman's wing or did he center line 2?

he centered the second line.

 

[njx9]

Others have said it, but his will to be the best and to win always really stood out to me. He reminded me of Elway a lot, in that there's no one else I ever would have wanted leading the team in a key situation. I don't think the team will ever have another player embody everything about the C more than he did.

And none of that even slightly speaks to his actual hockey skill.

 

[stu the grim reaper]

he scored more goals on the road than in home games. he retooled his game late in his athletic peak to become a totally different style of player. he found ugly ways to score and win faceoffs as he became slower and older and softer. he worked through rehab just to play a little longer in a league that didn't play to his strengths anymore.

basically, he was internally motivated to succeed, and he understood that success came from unsexy things like work, time spent, preparation, will, selflessness

someone like Joe Sakic is easier to fanboy over because you can see his virtuosic wrist shot and go "boy, he's born with that"... but yzerman makes you realize the uncomfortable truth that everything comes from working for it, so none of us in the stands has the excuse of "I wish I was born with it"

 

[Bench]

Yzerman became the prototype for the two-way center that dominates the NHL today. The way Patrick Roy made butterfly goaltending the standard, Yzerman was the leader in creating a dominant era for centers that play all phases.

I've told this anecdote before, but the Stars never win a Cup without Yzerman. Modano was the template for 80s high flying scoring center until Hitchcock demanded he round out his game to match Yzerman. Without Yzerman's progression pushing him, Modano never leads that team to back-to-back Cup appearances.

What higher praise can you place on a rival than to say you had to mimic him to find success?

 

[jkutswings]

Most inspiring player I've ever seen. An incredibly rare combination of determination, leadership, hard work, and talent. Never really got his full marks for being in the shadow of Gretzky and Lemieux, yet had zero problem (at least publicly) in having his coach demand a thorough reshaping of his game, and soldiered on, dragging others to greatness with him.

I'd trade a decade of lost seasons to ever get another player like him...but I don't know that there is one. The Captain, in every sense of the word.

 

[Jaromir Blogger]

In the Yzerman vs Sakic debate, there's also the very, very important fact that the Avs were more of a run-and-gun-and-let-Roy-sort-it-out kind of team, whereas the Wings played a much more disciplined defensive systems type of game (during the Bowman years) in which no one could really put up dominant numbers. Swap out Yzerman for Sakic on that Avs squad (even after the Stevie Wonder years) and his numbers would have increased significantly, while Sakic's would have dropped, as well. Ditto Fedorov and Forsberg. Yzerman's peak offensive years did not correlate with his peak defensive years, as was astutely pointed out above, but in a way, I think that that makes him even more impressive. Sakic was a very good two-way player during the later part of his career, but he never reached Yzerman's level in that regard. He also didn't peak as high offensively. Sakic's consistency and longevity was amazing; it's pretty remarkable in the history of the NHL, really. But, call me biased, I'll take Yzerman over Sakic. The evolution in his game was absolutely remarkable, and shows how extraordinarily dedicated, humble and all-around-amazing he was.

Yzerman was a terror offensively with virtually no help. His linemates in 88-89 would have been some combination of Probert, Gallant and MacLean (please correct me if I'm wrong). Oates was virtually a non-factor (I think they combined for maybe 14 PP goals that year or something) and he wasn't a name yet so it's not like he was drawing away tough matchups or anything. It was Yzerman all the way.

He was a great, great player and his impact went way beyond his amazing numbers; he really is one of those guys where you see him and can't deny the importance of leadership, dedication and heart (or "intangibles").

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xksvivvFrYY