Steve Yzerman

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Prior to the 1986–87 season, at age 21, Yzerman was named captain of the Red Wings and continuously served for the next two decades (dressing as captain for over 1,300 games), retiring as the longest-serving captain of any team in North American major league sports history. Locals often simply refer to Yzerman as "Stevie Y", "Stevie Wonder", or "The Captain". Yzerman led the Wings to five first-place regular season finishes and three Stanley Cup championships (1997, 1998, and 2002). He retired in 2006 among the NHL leaders in total career points and went on to a further career in NHL and international management.

In Their Own Story

On March 31, 2006, Yzerman reached a personal milestone by scoring his 691st career goal, passing Mario Lemieux for eighth place all-time. In a moment of characteristic humility before the game, he remarked, "I don't really know the significance. If anything, it shows how good [Lemieux] is; he played almost five years less than I did." Just days later, on April 3, he netted his final NHL goal, the 692nd of his career, against the Calgary Flames. His last professional game occurred on May 1, 2006, a loss to the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the first round that eliminated Detroit from the playoffs. Earlier in his career, he faced severe adversity, including a knee injury in March 1988 that cost him the rest of the regular season, yet the team still won their first division title in 23 years. In 2004, a deflected slapshot by Rhett Warrener broke his orbital bone and scratched his cornea, forcing him out for the remainder of the playoffs and the World Cup of Hockey; teammates Joe Thornton and Joe Sakic refused to wear his number 19 jersey in his honor during that tournament. Despite these injuries and surgeries, including an osteotomy before the 2002–03 season, he returned to win the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance in 2003.

Reader's Guide

Yzerman won numerous awards during his career, including the Lester B. Pearson Award (most outstanding player) in the 1988–89 season, the Conn Smythe Trophy (most valuable player of the Stanley Cup playoffs) in 1998, the Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward in 2000 and the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance in 2003. He played in ten All-Star Games and was a first team All-Star in 2000 and a member of the All-Rookie Team in 1984. Yzerman has represented his country in several international tournaments as a member of Canada's national hockey team (Team Canada). In 2002, Yzerman won an Olympic gold medal, making him one of few players to win an Olympic gold medal and the Stanley Cup in the same year. Yzerman was the general manager of Team Canada for the 2007 IIHF World Championship, which they won. Yzerman was appointed executive director of Team Canada on October 7, 2008, for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Team Canada went on to win the gold medal by defeating the United States. Yzerman was again appointed executive director of Team Canada on March 5, 2012, for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Canada went on to win their second-straight gold medal after defeating Sweden. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2014.

Did You Know?

• Yzerman was drafted fourth overall in the 1983 NHL entry draft after the New York Islanders selected Pat LaFontaine third.
• In his rookie season, Yzerman became the first 18-year-old and youngest player to play in an NHL All-Star Game (18 years, 267 days) since the current format was adopted in 1969; this stood as an NHL record for 27 years u
• Yzerman scored 155 points (65 goals and 90 assists) in the 1988–89 season, finishing third in regular season scoring behind Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky.
• In the 1996 playoffs, Yzerman scored a memorable goal by intercepting a pass from Chris Pronger and beating St. Louis Blues goaltender Jon Casey with a slap shot from the blue line to win the Western Conference Semifinal
• Yzerman handed the Stanley Cup first to Vladimir Konstantinov in 1998, who had been severely injured in a car accident just six days after the Cup victory in 1997 and was using a wheelchair.