May 4, 2004
BY NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
CALGARY, Alberta -- Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman looks better than expected, considering he took a puck in the face and had 4 1/2 hours of surgery Saturday, said people who saw him Sunday.
And those close to him think he will play again -- even if he has to wait until after a lockout -- considering the kind of competitor he is.
The last of the Wings were on their way out of Joe Louis Arena after practice Sunday, headed for the team plane, when Yzerman walked in, straight from Henry Ford Hospital.
"He was getting ready to go home," coach Dave Lewis said Monday. "But he thought he'd come to Joe Louis and see the guys."
Defenseman Mathieu Dandenault said: "He just wanted to wish us the best."
A few players were there, along with management, coaches and trainers.
"I had visions of seeing the eye totally puffed over," general manager Ken Holland said, "and it wasn't. . . .
"Obviously you get a puck in the eye, it's bad, but at the same time he looks good considering what maybe could have been."
Yzerman was hit in the face by a puck Saturday in the second period of Game 5 against Calgary, a 1-0 loss. He suffered a scratched cornea and multiple fractures to the orbital bone that surrounds his left eye, and he had blurred vision in the eye.
Dandenault didn't make it seem like everything was all right.
"His eye was a little bit red, obviously," Dandenault said. "You could see they had done some work. . . . I mean, there's still tons of damage."
But Dandenault noted that Yzerman wasn't wearing an eye patch, didn't have a lot of swelling and wasn't all cut up.
"I didn't see any stitches, honestly," Dandenault said. "It looked better than I thought it would."
ESPN analyst Darren Pang, a close friend, didn't see Yzerman but talked to him on the phone Sunday.
"I was pretty amazed at just how aware and alert he was in conversation," Pang said. "It was just like talking to the old Steve again. The phone rang, and there's Steve. I thought he was at a restaurant. He got home, and all he's thinking about is being here."
There was concern Yzerman would never play again now that the Wings' season is over before he could come back in these playoffs.
The collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and NHL Players' Association expires Sept. 15. Many expect a lockout. Yzerman has said he has no intention to retire and is willing to wait a year, but he turns 39 on Sunday.
Pang acknowledged a really long lockout could force Yzerman to retire. But Pang said a shorter lockout could work to Yzerman's advantage.
"I was with him last year for two weeks at his cottage," he said. "It's powerful to watch him go to it every single day and work out for three hours.
"During the lockout session, he would be doing the same thing. That's the difference between him and let's say another player that doesn't have that hunger."