Steve Yzerman
- Thread starter Eye of Ra
- Start date
HisNoodliness
The Karate Kid and ASP Kai
Ranking wings all time is hard. I'd say it's impossible to have him anywhere outside 1st-4th best wings of all time. Personally I'd say he's the best wing of all time and my second favorite.
His play style was that of a defensively responsible forward that could do literally everything well and had the skill to make offense happen every time he touched the puck. He really did it all honestly. Sometimes you could just tell that he wouldn't leave the ice without scoring because his force of will was just too strong for the other team to stop. Toews is probably the best comparable nowadays but Stevie Y was better in literally every way. Plus he didn't make you really want to punch him in his stupid little face like Toews does every time he speaks.
I just remember him as THE captain. He was the leader of the team. He did it on the ice. Off the ice. He was serious but fun. He'd score that goal you needed as well as get the puck out in a tight defensive situation. He simply refused to lose. He wasn't really a hitter.
He'd probably have a harder time generating offense in today's NHL. The goalies are just so good and you'd have a very difficult time building a team around him like the 97-02 Wings. But yeah, he'd be a top 5 player in the league.
His play style was that of a defensively responsible forward that could do literally everything well and had the skill to make offense happen every time he touched the puck. He really did it all honestly. Sometimes you could just tell that he wouldn't leave the ice without scoring because his force of will was just too strong for the other team to stop. Toews is probably the best comparable nowadays but Stevie Y was better in literally every way. Plus he didn't make you really want to punch him in his stupid little face like Toews does every time he speaks.
I just remember him as THE captain. He was the leader of the team. He did it on the ice. Off the ice. He was serious but fun. He'd score that goal you needed as well as get the puck out in a tight defensive situation. He simply refused to lose. He wasn't really a hitter.
He'd probably have a harder time generating offense in today's NHL. The goalies are just so good and you'd have a very difficult time building a team around him like the 97-02 Wings. But yeah, he'd be a top 5 player in the league.
Last edited:
BinCookin
Registered User
Yzerman actually had two "forms" in his career. He started as a purely ridiculously good offensive player. I am actually too young to have seen this Yzerman play. But when he gets 150pts the same year gretzky gets 200 and Lemieux about the same. He "flew" under the radar. He was basically insane offense. But the Red Wings kept losing despite his amazing stats.
Eventually Scotty Bowman and maybe some other coaches? Convinced Yzerman to sacrifice his stats for all around play. Which when he put effort into that... was amazing at it. This is the Yzerman 90's that I got to see play.
So if we look at Red Wings from 1994 Forward (which is when I started watching Hockey) I would say Yzerman was likely the best all around player we have ever had.
Close competition would be Federov who also could do EITHER form as well.. (Dynamic offensive player, or smart Defensive player). Both were really good, and were the reason for the Stanley Cups in Detroit in those years.
Also near the end of his Career watch Yzerman play for the olympics on 1 leg, and still score important goals when he can barely skate. Its pretty impressive. Yzerman was great. Its hard to say anything bad about the guy.
Eventually Scotty Bowman and maybe some other coaches? Convinced Yzerman to sacrifice his stats for all around play. Which when he put effort into that... was amazing at it. This is the Yzerman 90's that I got to see play.
So if we look at Red Wings from 1994 Forward (which is when I started watching Hockey) I would say Yzerman was likely the best all around player we have ever had.
Close competition would be Federov who also could do EITHER form as well.. (Dynamic offensive player, or smart Defensive player). Both were really good, and were the reason for the Stanley Cups in Detroit in those years.
Also near the end of his Career watch Yzerman play for the olympics on 1 leg, and still score important goals when he can barely skate. Its pretty impressive. Yzerman was great. Its hard to say anything bad about the guy.
Run the Jewels
Make Detroit Great Again
I'd put him third behind Gordie and Nick. Gordie was the greatest Red Wing of all time with Lidstrom being second in my opinion. Steve was not a hitter, he was a highly skilled scoring machine who altered his game when Scotty Bowman came to Detroit. He became a Selke winning player who became a dominant defensive forward. He was our greatest captain of all time. Wore the crown for a really long period of time and carried himself with a level of professionalism that makes Sid Crosby look like an immature punk to many Red Wings fans.
The Wings won that 2001-02 Cup largely due to Yzerman being able to will that team across the finish line on one knee. It was one of those playoff performances you would never forget.
He absolutely would have an impact today, he was only surpassed in skill by maybe Mario Lemieux and definitely Wayne Gretzky. He became an excellent defensive forward. His speed early on was excellent. His skill and size was comprable to Patrick Kane who just won the Hart. So yeah, I have no doubt Yzerman in his prime would be an impact player today.
Last edited:
I'd agree with 3rd. I don't think there's an argument I could make for anyone over Gordie, and I think that, while the difference wasn't huge, Lidstrom was still a better player (though, if you want to argue intangibles [as much as that seems to be a dirty word around here], I could see an argument for Yzerman in 2nd). That said, on a team with a fair number of historically great players, 2nd or 3rd best is hardly peanuts.
He'd certainly still be a top C today, I don't think his skill set would be totally (or at all) inapplicable to today's game, though I think his numbers would certainly be down.
He'd certainly still be a top C today, I don't think his skill set would be totally (or at all) inapplicable to today's game, though I think his numbers would certainly be down.
RtJ nailed it all around.
Stevie will almost undoubtedly be thought of 1st or 2nd when people start naming Red Wings' greats, but I'd have him ranked 3rd. Howe is a top 4 guy ever and Lidstrom is a top 5 blueliner. Yzerman is an all time great and would excel in any era though. He had an amazing combination of talent and drive/heart.
Stevie will almost undoubtedly be thought of 1st or 2nd when people start naming Red Wings' greats, but I'd have him ranked 3rd. Howe is a top 4 guy ever and Lidstrom is a top 5 blueliner. Yzerman is an all time great and would excel in any era though. He had an amazing combination of talent and drive/heart.
Birko19
Registered User
TheOctopusKid
Registered User
- Sep 24, 2010
- 1,390
- 1,556
I would say that 3rd is a fair argument to make but I generally find it difficult and a fruitless exercise to compare players across generations and positions.
Having watched the majority of his career - he was an absolute offensive force early in his career and would just put up amazing play and amazing play. There was such a pure efficiency, and almost simple humility to his style of play. His skating was fluid and quick, but made it look so natural and effortless even know it often looked like he was skating around stationary defensemen. He never pulled over the top dekes but just did what he needed to do to get around a player or to force a goalie to drop. Later he evolved into a very committed defender at the sacrifice of his offensive output. But his defensive style was bruising or over the top, often relying on good positioning and leverage to force players off the puck if needed.
What honestly stands heads and shoulders above everything else was his personality and presence on the ice. There was stoicism, a calmness and composure. Never rattled and never shied from the moment and always found a way to will his team through example. I know it had been mentioned, but his 2002 run when he was playing essentially on one knee and would still give everything he had to make the simplest of plays. Every time he hit the ice, he had to use his stick to push himself back up, you could feel the pain he was in but he didn't care and never showed it.
He had a lot of contemporaries throughout his career. Guys like Sakic and Sundin and even Modano to some extent who all played a similar style to him but it was Yzerman's heart that stood out above all the others for me.
Having watched the majority of his career - he was an absolute offensive force early in his career and would just put up amazing play and amazing play. There was such a pure efficiency, and almost simple humility to his style of play. His skating was fluid and quick, but made it look so natural and effortless even know it often looked like he was skating around stationary defensemen. He never pulled over the top dekes but just did what he needed to do to get around a player or to force a goalie to drop. Later he evolved into a very committed defender at the sacrifice of his offensive output. But his defensive style was bruising or over the top, often relying on good positioning and leverage to force players off the puck if needed.
What honestly stands heads and shoulders above everything else was his personality and presence on the ice. There was stoicism, a calmness and composure. Never rattled and never shied from the moment and always found a way to will his team through example. I know it had been mentioned, but his 2002 run when he was playing essentially on one knee and would still give everything he had to make the simplest of plays. Every time he hit the ice, he had to use his stick to push himself back up, you could feel the pain he was in but he didn't care and never showed it.
He had a lot of contemporaries throughout his career. Guys like Sakic and Sundin and even Modano to some extent who all played a similar style to him but it was Yzerman's heart that stood out above all the others for me.
Mount Suribachi
Registered User
As a "Wing", he's #2. As a player, he's #3
4 onwards is where it gets interesting - Sawchuk, Feds, Lindsay, Datsyuk....
Hmm, anyone want to do a series of polls to rank the all time Wings 1-10? Would be a fun way to kill a couple of weeks before training camp starts.
4 onwards is where it gets interesting - Sawchuk, Feds, Lindsay, Datsyuk....
Hmm, anyone want to do a series of polls to rank the all time Wings 1-10? Would be a fun way to kill a couple of weeks before training camp starts.
jkutswings
hot piss hockey
- Jul 10, 2014
- 11,051
- 8,801
I agree with many of the previous comments. I actually began watching the Wings when Yzerman was a rookie, and it was phenomenal to see his career unfold.
Early on, it was almost a shame that Gretzky and Lemieux were in the league, because Yzerman began racking up points like it was going out of style (and, other than if a fight broke out, he was the only thing worth watching a Red Wings game for). And yet, with Wayno being the poster boy for the league, and quite honestly, being head and shoulders above even the elite athletes of his generation, Stevie Y’s early offensive accomplishments were a bit glossed over, at least nationally. (Perhaps partly due to his quiet off-ice demeanor as a player, where he never sought out the public eye, while Gretzky was plastered over every commercial and advertisement under the sun.)
And yet, despite all the kid’s immense talent, the team simply could not put anything together for the longest time, and questions began to circulate whether he would ever achieve any postseason success, or if he was only a regular-season phenom. At one point, there were even trade rumors of sending him to Ottawa, but (at least as I remember it), Marion Illitch stepped in and insisted that he remain in Detroit.
By this time, some of the other players that would make up the 97-98 core had begun to arrive, and there was a sense of building, but still very much questioning if the franchise would ever ascend the mountaintop. The drafts were panning out at a ridiculous rate, though, with Lidstrom and Fedorov in particular (53OA and 74OA, respectively) being insane diamonds in the rough. And yet, throughout the years, Jacques Demers, Bryan Murray, and all the other guys to trod the bench at The Joe just couldn’t find paydirt.
Enter Scotty Bowman.
There are countless people who have watched more hockey than I have, and who know more about the history of the sport. But in over 30 years, I’ve yet to see a coach who forced bigger changes to the way his key players played the game, with greater success, than Scotty.
Imagine if, leading up to the championships in Chicago, that Quenville told Toews that he needed to stop focusing on offense so much, and be a two-way center. Oh yeah, and then told Kane that he needed to be able to suit up as a defenseman, particularly on the power play.
And yet, that’s exactly what Yzerman did: he sacrificed a great deal of his offensive production, rounded out his game, and became downright tenacious at both ends of the rink. Not nearly as creative as, say, Datsyuk in his prime, but with the greatest dose of willpower that I’ve ever seen in a professional athlete in my lifetime.
We’re talking about a player who not only participated, but led a playoff run while skating with a busted knee. And then decided that he’d like to have a doctor insert some ligaments and cartilage from a cadaver into his knee, in order to keep playing a few more years.
Howe is in a class by himself for statistics, and Lidstrom had more talent, to the point of making almost everything look effortless. But if you needed one player in the red and white to quietly take charge of a locker room, lead by example with plenty of talent, and simply refuse to accept anything less than excellence…it was Steve Yzerman.
Early on, it was almost a shame that Gretzky and Lemieux were in the league, because Yzerman began racking up points like it was going out of style (and, other than if a fight broke out, he was the only thing worth watching a Red Wings game for). And yet, with Wayno being the poster boy for the league, and quite honestly, being head and shoulders above even the elite athletes of his generation, Stevie Y’s early offensive accomplishments were a bit glossed over, at least nationally. (Perhaps partly due to his quiet off-ice demeanor as a player, where he never sought out the public eye, while Gretzky was plastered over every commercial and advertisement under the sun.)
And yet, despite all the kid’s immense talent, the team simply could not put anything together for the longest time, and questions began to circulate whether he would ever achieve any postseason success, or if he was only a regular-season phenom. At one point, there were even trade rumors of sending him to Ottawa, but (at least as I remember it), Marion Illitch stepped in and insisted that he remain in Detroit.
By this time, some of the other players that would make up the 97-98 core had begun to arrive, and there was a sense of building, but still very much questioning if the franchise would ever ascend the mountaintop. The drafts were panning out at a ridiculous rate, though, with Lidstrom and Fedorov in particular (53OA and 74OA, respectively) being insane diamonds in the rough. And yet, throughout the years, Jacques Demers, Bryan Murray, and all the other guys to trod the bench at The Joe just couldn’t find paydirt.
Enter Scotty Bowman.
There are countless people who have watched more hockey than I have, and who know more about the history of the sport. But in over 30 years, I’ve yet to see a coach who forced bigger changes to the way his key players played the game, with greater success, than Scotty.
Imagine if, leading up to the championships in Chicago, that Quenville told Toews that he needed to stop focusing on offense so much, and be a two-way center. Oh yeah, and then told Kane that he needed to be able to suit up as a defenseman, particularly on the power play.
And yet, that’s exactly what Yzerman did: he sacrificed a great deal of his offensive production, rounded out his game, and became downright tenacious at both ends of the rink. Not nearly as creative as, say, Datsyuk in his prime, but with the greatest dose of willpower that I’ve ever seen in a professional athlete in my lifetime.
We’re talking about a player who not only participated, but led a playoff run while skating with a busted knee. And then decided that he’d like to have a doctor insert some ligaments and cartilage from a cadaver into his knee, in order to keep playing a few more years.
Howe is in a class by himself for statistics, and Lidstrom had more talent, to the point of making almost everything look effortless. But if you needed one player in the red and white to quietly take charge of a locker room, lead by example with plenty of talent, and simply refuse to accept anything less than excellence…it was Steve Yzerman.
jkutswings
hot piss hockey
- Jul 10, 2014
- 11,051
- 8,801
I'm game. Here's a decent top 30-something that Ranker did, to help spur discussion:
http://www.ranker.com/list/greatest-detroit-red-wings-of-all-time/ranker-hockey
I have to agree with the other poster; that's a pretty bad list. Though, when your only option is 'vote up', I guess that happens.
19 for president
Registered User
- Apr 28, 2002
- 2,878
- 1,048
Like many that have already posted, I began following the Wings in the mid 90s, so I only really got to see the second phase of Yzerman's career.
Yzerman came into the league as a real offensive burner. He was a very solid skater, a good shot, and had good vision. He was probably the 3rd best offensive player of the late 80s/ early 90s right after Gretzky and Mario. From my understanding he was never a "bad" defensive player, but he definitely focused more on offensive during the Dead Wing years. He had some beautiful spinorama goals during that time. Due to a couple of horrific leg injuries, and the vision of Scotty Bowman, Yzerman became a two way force in the 90s. By this time he finally had supporting players like the Russian 5, Shanny, Lids, Murphy, etc, so the offense became a team approach instead of relying on just one player.
The man was a clutch player, which is something the Wings have really lacked in recent years. If you needed a big goal or play, Yzerman was there to deliver in the latter half of his career. He singlehandedly willed the Wings past the Nucks in the 1st round during his last cup on one knee. The second half of his career was dedicated to winning, and he accomplished exactly that with multiple cup wins and an Olympic Gold.
As for how he ranks all time. I break it down in a couple of ways.
All Time Player.
1. Howe
2. Lids
3. Yzerman
4. Sawchuck
5. Feds
All Time Wings
1a. Howe, 1b. Yzerman (To me Yzerman is the greatest Wing, but I never saw Howe play or have that special attachment to him)
2. Lids
3. Lindsay
4. Sawchuck
5. Feds/Abel
Pure Talent
1. Howe
2. Feds
3. Lids
4a. Sawchuck 4b. Yzerman
Yzerman came into the league as a real offensive burner. He was a very solid skater, a good shot, and had good vision. He was probably the 3rd best offensive player of the late 80s/ early 90s right after Gretzky and Mario. From my understanding he was never a "bad" defensive player, but he definitely focused more on offensive during the Dead Wing years. He had some beautiful spinorama goals during that time. Due to a couple of horrific leg injuries, and the vision of Scotty Bowman, Yzerman became a two way force in the 90s. By this time he finally had supporting players like the Russian 5, Shanny, Lids, Murphy, etc, so the offense became a team approach instead of relying on just one player.
The man was a clutch player, which is something the Wings have really lacked in recent years. If you needed a big goal or play, Yzerman was there to deliver in the latter half of his career. He singlehandedly willed the Wings past the Nucks in the 1st round during his last cup on one knee. The second half of his career was dedicated to winning, and he accomplished exactly that with multiple cup wins and an Olympic Gold.
As for how he ranks all time. I break it down in a couple of ways.
All Time Player.
1. Howe
2. Lids
3. Yzerman
4. Sawchuck
5. Feds
All Time Wings
1a. Howe, 1b. Yzerman (To me Yzerman is the greatest Wing, but I never saw Howe play or have that special attachment to him)
2. Lids
3. Lindsay
4. Sawchuck
5. Feds/Abel
Pure Talent
1. Howe
2. Feds
3. Lids
4a. Sawchuck 4b. Yzerman
Red Stanley
Registered User
All-time rankings are largely based on perspective and personal preference, as it's almost impossible to "accurately" compare a defenseman to a forward, or two players from completely different eras. What I will say about Yzerman is that he was incredible: an incredible talent and an incredible captain with an incredibly strong will to succeed and an incredible tolerance for pain. He didn't hit, but was really really strong on the puck, both in possession and retrieval. He is still considered the modern ideal of a two-way forward. As such, he'd most definitely be a top player if he were to play today. I still remember him carrying a team loaded with future hall of famers on one knee and was so pissed he didn't win the Conn Smythe that year.
Sentinel
Registered User
Yzerman had extremely high pain tolerance. He was practically smashed into pieces, then duct taped and then would be on the ice again.
1. Howe
2. Nick
3. Y
4. Feds
5. Sawchuk
6. Kelly
7. Dats
1. Howe
2. Nick
3. Y
4. Feds
5. Sawchuk
6. Kelly
7. Dats
An interesting side note, but it was Yzerman that was cited as the catalyst for Mike Modano turning into a championship caliber center. Hitchcock, the then coach of the Stars, said Modano needed to learn from Yzerman's example of two-way play at the sacrifice of offense. Modano put much more emphasis on his defensive play and being a more all-around player capable of winning the Cup.
So Yzerman wasn't just amazing in his own right. He was influencing the development of his rivals.
So Yzerman wasn't just amazing in his own right. He was influencing the development of his rivals.
SpookyTsuki
Registered User
- Dec 3, 2014
- 15,916
- 671
As a wing. He's first or second no question
Lidstrom takes a solid third. Now if skill is in play it's hard to not have early yzerman not number 1
Lidstrom takes a solid third. Now if skill is in play it's hard to not have early yzerman not number 1
As a UK based wings fan, I had precious little chance to see the team play before the SC years, but had been a DRW follower since the start of the 90s, just as Lids, Feds etc were establishing themselves. When the team still had Yserbaert (sp?) and Sandstrom and others whose careers plummeted as the wings ascended.
But Stevie was the reason I supported the team. I already liked the uniform, the history etc, and saw parallels with my UK football team (Arsenal), the greatest of which was the young captain who overcame adversity to lead his team back to eating at the top table after years and years of mostly mediocrity. It was a team with cool, multinational exotic names (where even the Canadian names hinted at other lands more strongly than most). It was a sleeping giant waking up. And it had Stevie Y.
Although I only saw snatches before 97, I he was my man. There was something about his combination of ability and quiet, dignified, determined leadership that immediately caught my attention. Ok, he wasn't the great one. But unlike that most famous of Wings fans, Gretzky, even then when his game was in the process of changing, you somehow fancied Yzerman more in a street fight.
Gretzky was so burdened with being the Best Player Ever, and the primary marketing tool for the sport outside Canada and Russia, that he never quite developed the singular will of Yzerman that led to the younger man getting hurt more. And Mario always seemed less appealing, for all his brilliance.
One thing that was oft overlooked about Yzerman was his ability to be effective on a line with almost anyone, and to largely elevate their play. The only time this wasn't true was on those magical moments when Scotty would tell the Russian 5 to do their thing, and that post-Soviet-symbiosis would click into gear.
As has been said, comparing eras is a hard thing to do. There is no doubt that Gordie Howe's incredible longevity and loyalty, combined with his package of skill, size, meanness, strength and goalscoring makes him the Wings king. The fact that Gretzky still blushes like a 5 year old talking about him says enough.
After that.....Lidstrom is either the best or 2nd best d-man of all time depending on whether you value longevity and consistency more than a shorter lived game changing brilliance. Its easy to forget that as well as his 7 Norris trophies, he was runner up another 3 times to almost exclusively inferior opponents, and was nominated 12 times in total. While perhaps not Bobby Orr, the most consistently excellent D-man in NHL history.
So I just can't put Stevie ahead of them. But despite the impudent genius of Datsyuk, the almost as much will of Hank, the breath-removing brilliance of the more talented but less consistent Sergei, and many others, Yzerman is still a long walk ahead of any other candidate.
The thought of a PP unit of Howe, Yzerman, Dats, Lids, Sergei and Sawchuk is almost enough to make one cry! The fortune of so many of us to have seen the majority of 4 of those guys careers is extraordinary
But Stevie was the reason I supported the team. I already liked the uniform, the history etc, and saw parallels with my UK football team (Arsenal), the greatest of which was the young captain who overcame adversity to lead his team back to eating at the top table after years and years of mostly mediocrity. It was a team with cool, multinational exotic names (where even the Canadian names hinted at other lands more strongly than most). It was a sleeping giant waking up. And it had Stevie Y.
Although I only saw snatches before 97, I he was my man. There was something about his combination of ability and quiet, dignified, determined leadership that immediately caught my attention. Ok, he wasn't the great one. But unlike that most famous of Wings fans, Gretzky, even then when his game was in the process of changing, you somehow fancied Yzerman more in a street fight.
Gretzky was so burdened with being the Best Player Ever, and the primary marketing tool for the sport outside Canada and Russia, that he never quite developed the singular will of Yzerman that led to the younger man getting hurt more. And Mario always seemed less appealing, for all his brilliance.
One thing that was oft overlooked about Yzerman was his ability to be effective on a line with almost anyone, and to largely elevate their play. The only time this wasn't true was on those magical moments when Scotty would tell the Russian 5 to do their thing, and that post-Soviet-symbiosis would click into gear.
As has been said, comparing eras is a hard thing to do. There is no doubt that Gordie Howe's incredible longevity and loyalty, combined with his package of skill, size, meanness, strength and goalscoring makes him the Wings king. The fact that Gretzky still blushes like a 5 year old talking about him says enough.
After that.....Lidstrom is either the best or 2nd best d-man of all time depending on whether you value longevity and consistency more than a shorter lived game changing brilliance. Its easy to forget that as well as his 7 Norris trophies, he was runner up another 3 times to almost exclusively inferior opponents, and was nominated 12 times in total. While perhaps not Bobby Orr, the most consistently excellent D-man in NHL history.
So I just can't put Stevie ahead of them. But despite the impudent genius of Datsyuk, the almost as much will of Hank, the breath-removing brilliance of the more talented but less consistent Sergei, and many others, Yzerman is still a long walk ahead of any other candidate.
The thought of a PP unit of Howe, Yzerman, Dats, Lids, Sergei and Sawchuk is almost enough to make one cry! The fortune of so many of us to have seen the majority of 4 of those guys careers is extraordinary
The Zetterberg Era
Ball Hockey Sucks
When I think of the Red Wings, I think of Yzerman first. It is the reason he has a C on in his jersey that is hung in the rafters. Talent wise he is outside the top 3, which says more about the franchise than it does about him. But honestly he is the #1 Red Wing for me. Howe did finish up with another team. But for me Yzerman would be Mr. Red Wing if we handed it out.
Also as someone that was old enough to watch Yzerman at his peak offensively. He still drew the toughest assignments back then. He wasn't selke caliber but he was a good two way player very quickly in his career. Bowman helped push that through, but his peers would talk about him being good defensively clear back into the 80's. Bowman had a lot more to work with than what seems to be remembered in terms of how that is rehashed over the years. It wasn't the seismic change some seem to say. Though it certainly did help get the Wings over the top and deserves full marks. But this isn't teaching Brett Hull to care about D for the first time in Dallas. It was taking an above average two-way forward with elite offense and making him totally game dominant elite.
Also as someone that was old enough to watch Yzerman at his peak offensively. He still drew the toughest assignments back then. He wasn't selke caliber but he was a good two way player very quickly in his career. Bowman helped push that through, but his peers would talk about him being good defensively clear back into the 80's. Bowman had a lot more to work with than what seems to be remembered in terms of how that is rehashed over the years. It wasn't the seismic change some seem to say. Though it certainly did help get the Wings over the top and deserves full marks. But this isn't teaching Brett Hull to care about D for the first time in Dallas. It was taking an above average two-way forward with elite offense and making him totally game dominant elite.
jkutswings
hot piss hockey
- Jul 10, 2014
- 11,051
- 8,801
That run had so many memories for me, not the least of which was something that ended up only being funny in hindsight.
I actually attended the first two games against Vancouver in Round 1 that year. I was so geeked, I just couldn't wait to see this All-Star Team for the ages start to tear apart any cannon fodder that got in the way of their imminent championship.
And then they came out flat as a pancake for not just one, but two games, and went down 0-2 in the series.
I was SO angry. I stormed out of The Joe after Game 2, a nasty mix of frustration and disappointment. After the recent early exits, Illitch had opened the purse strings in historic fashion, the team steamrolled through the regular season...and now they were going to get bounced by this lame Vancouver squad IN THE FIRST ROUND?!? I was convinced that they had blown what I thought was the best opportunity at a Stanley Cup in my lifetime, and I was spittin' fire at the thought.
Haha, and then Lidstrom beat Cloutier from center ice, the entire series turned on a dime, and a legendary team went on a legendary championship run.
And I was perfectly content to watch the rest of it from home.
Vladdy84
L-O-Y-A-L-T-Y
Ad
Upcoming events
-
-
GAME 7 - North Bay Battalion @ Oshawa Generals - Series tied 3-3Wagers: 2Staked: $850.00Event closes- Updated:
-
-
Series Winner Florida Panthers vs Boston BruinsWagers: 10Staked: $102,319.00Event closes- Updated:
-