Steve Yzerman doesn't look like he's nearing the end of his legendary career with the Detroit Red Wings. But, this playoff run could very well be Yzerman's last hurrah.

If it is, the Detroit sports icon, the longest-serving captain in NHL history, is determined to skate away in style.

Yzerman, since the Olympic break in February, has been playing about as well as he has in several years. And with a dominant team surrounding him, he has an excellent opportunity to hoist the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in his 22-year career.

"I'm pretty excited about it,'' Yzerman said. "We've had a very good season, I think we've given ourselves a lot of hope. I'm anxious to get into it. We missed an entire season last year (lockout) and had first- and second-round exits the years before, so it's another opportunity, and I'm really looking forward to it.''

Yzerman has dropped hints that this will be his final season, saying he's happy to be getting "one more opportunity'' to win the Cup. But he's not interested in having a farewell tour and would never risk becoming a distraction to the team by announcing his intentions. So he continues to keep his cards close to the vest, leaving everyone, including his teammates, guessing.

"We'll see what happens here and make a decision (about retirement) sometime in late June,'' Yzerman said. "We'll wait and see how the playoffs go and decide then.''

His playoff prospects look much brighter now than they did the first half of the season, when three separate groin injuries caused Yzerman to miss 18 of the first 39 games and wonder if he made the right decision to return. And he wasn't skating well in many of the games he played, forcing coach Mike Babcock to relegate him to the fourth line and reduce his ice time to less than 10 minutes per game on many nights.

Yzerman admits there were moments in late November and early December when he thought about retiring immediately.

"It was difficult to get going, (retirement) was something to consider,'' Yzerman said. "I'm glad I stuck with it and felt if I remained healthy and got in some games I could get better.''

What's happened since is a remarkable renaissance. Yzerman was at his strongest in March, when he fashioned a club-best 11-game points streak (five goals, nine assists).

"It just took a while to get back to feeling comfortable on the ice,'' Yzerman said. "Missing an entire season was not helpful in getting off to a good start, and then missing a lot of games with injuries, it took a long time to get going. The more you're playing, things come back.''

Wings general manager Ken Holland said Yzerman in recent weeks has looked as good as he has in 4-5 years.


"Steve has such a major impact on our team, but the impact is greater when he's playing like he's playing,'' Holland said. "He has the ability to raise his game to the moment.''

Yzerman has played left wing all season. His line, with Robert Lang and Jason Williams has been one of the club's most productive units in recent weeks.

"His passing's been unbelievable lately,'' Brendan Shanahan said. "The big thing for him is when he is injured or not playing a lot, rather than sulk about it, he just works harder, so when the opportunity comes to get the ice time, he's ready. He's proven he hasn't lost anything; when he's healthy, he can still play the game.''

Said Nicklas Lidstrom: "He looks real determined, as he does every year when the playoffs come around.''

In the playoffs, when every little psychological edge could prove crucial, the chance to send Yzerman out a champion can only be added motivation for this team. But this will not be a "Win One More Cup for the Captain'' campaign.

"I don't think he would want us coming out and saying anything like that,'' Kirk Maltby said. "You want to win because you want to win, but a lot of guys would love to be able to send a guy like Stevie out on top with another ring, if this were to be his last year.''

Said Chris Chelios: "Everybody's pulling for him. It might just get in his head and keep him interested for next year, too.''