Hockeytown debate: Yzerman or Howe?
Devellano considers Mr. Hockey No. 1 and The Captain No. 1A in history of franchise.
Tuesday, October 4, 2005
By John Niyo / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Who's the greatest player in Red Wings history?
"Flip a coin," said Ken Holland, general manager of the Wings.
As he begins what likely is his final NHL season, Steve Yzerman has little patience for this sort of debate.
But as his career nears a close, and as he closes in on some of Gordie Howe's cherished franchise records, it is undoubtedly a debate that will take place, with or without him.
This will be Yzerman's 22nd season in Detroit and he is the league's active scoring leader (1,721 points). He won't catch Howe's career totals -- 801 goals and 1,809 points in 25 seasons -- but Yzerman could become just the seventh or eighth player in NHL history to notch 700 career goals. He sits ninth on the career list with 678 goals, just behind Mario Lemieux (683).
Gordie Howe is, remember, simply as "Mr. Hockey." Yzerman has his own moniker, "The Captain."
Each is revered for his longevity: Howe played for the Wings in four different decades, Yzerman three.
Both are hailed as champions: Howe won four Stanley Cups, Yzerman three -- and giving chase for a fourth this season.
Howe, who was captain for four seasons, finished in the NHL's top five in scoring 20 consecutive seasons, while Yzerman, who boasts a franchise-record five 50-goal seasons, begins his NHL-record 19th season as team captain.
There are plenty of Red Wings Hall of Famers to choose from -- Alex Delvecchio, Ted Lindsay, Red Kelly and Sid Abel, among others -- but few have left an imprint in quite the same way as Howe and Yzerman.
"I've always said that they're No. 1 and 1A," said Jimmy Devellano, senior vice president of the Wings. "Steve is right there with Gordie."
Devellano paused, then continued his thought.
"And I'm going to throw in another name of a player that's going to join them if he finishes his career with us," he said. "His name is Nicklas Lidstrom. They'll be 1, 1A and 1B."
But that's a debate for a later date, of course.
Yzerman, for his part, said he doesn't think it's fair to try to compare players from different eras.
Then again, he also shies away from comparisons to some of his contemporaries, superstars such as Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux, or even Bobby Orr, whose career was cut short by injuries in the late 1970s.
"My feeling is, those three names elevated themselves a little bit beyond everybody else," Yzerman said. "I played over the last 20 years with a lot of great, great NHL players.
"But those three, whether it was a two- or three- or five-year period, were able to go a notch above the other great players. They reached a different level."