EDMONTON, Alberta -- The bus was idling in the loading dock, and Steve Yzerman trudged toward it. He was talking with teammate Mathieu Schneider as he slowly walked, and although the pain wasn't visible, it was palpable.

It was over again for the Red Wings, again in stunning, inexplicable fashion, this time a Game 6 third-period collapse against Edmonton. It was so familiar, ridiculously familiar, but really, it was so different.

This truly had the look and feel of a last gasp, stamped with an expiration date, pocked with mishaps and ultimately wrapped in sentiment. No matter what the Wings do to fix their playoff woes -- and they had better do something -- they almost assuredly will do it without their captain.

Yzerman said he'll make an announcement on his future after a few days of reflection. But there appears little doubt his career ended on the Edmonton ice, a melancholy scene as he shook hands with the victorious Oilers.

Yzerman's body is betraying him regularly now, including a sore right knee late in the regular season and a torn rib muscle that kept him out of two playoff games. He returned to give whatever he had left, and amazingly, the old flash was evident. But as much as the spirit is willing, the body is dragging him toward retirement, and there's nothing he can do to stop it.

"I don't know that I'm ever not gonna want to play the game," said Yzerman, who has spent all 22 of his seasons with the Wings and is the longest serving captain in NHL history. "I really, really enjoy it. But the best thing right now is to go home, everyone will analyze what happened and where we went wrong and what needs to be done for the future. And then whether it be later this week or next week, I can make a quick decision on what I want to do."

Yzerman, who turns 41 next week, reiterated that he pretty much knows what he'll do. Even with his late-season rejuvenation, the physical realities are unrelenting. The right knee is rubbing bone on bone, and will never be completely sound.

Disturbing trend

For the Wings, their decisions won't come so quickly, or so easily. General manager Ken Holland can't just tear apart a team that tore apart the league during an outstanding regular season. But he has to make fundamental changes, especially in his withering defense. The Wings couldn't keep up, in speed or age, with the Oilers, or with Calgary in 2004, or with Anaheim in 2003. It's also fair to suggest the Wings fattened their record on weak division opponents, which inflated expectations.

Coach Mike Babcock fared no better than the deposed Dave Lewis as the Wings lost in the first round for the third time in five postseason appearances. Since Scotty Bowman retired following the 2002 championship season, the Wings are 8-14 in the playoffs. Babcock was supposed to make a difference and hasn't -- yet. This series looked like the other disappointments, with the Wings controlling the puck and the shots, but not making the toughest plays.

Again, their best players faltered. Again, the goalie couldn't save them. Manny Legace wasn't chiefly responsible for the collapse, including two Ales Hemsky goals in the final 3:53, but he didn't play like a No. 1 goalie. After the game, Babcock didn't hang out Legace as badly as the defense did, but it's hard to endorse him. The Wings must search for a starter now, although keeping Legace as the league's best backup is an option.

Wings were exposed

For all their experience, the Wings showed an inexcusable lack of poise. The older players are showing the wear, from Chris Chelios to Brendan Shanahan to Schneider to Nicklas Lidstrom (who was on the ice for all four Edmonton goals Monday night).

And the younger players, some in key playoff action for the first time, made mistakes.

Henrik Zetterberg led both teams with six goals, and he'll be the Wings' dominant player for years. But Pavel Datsyuk was scoreless, and has three goals in 42 career playoff games.

The Wings were lacking in important areas, perhaps the salary-cap era finally is biting them. Look at the relatively new players thrust into prime roles -- Andreas Lilja, Dan Cleary, Brett Lebda, Jason Williams, Mikael Samuelsson, Johan Franzen, Niklas Kronwall -- and try to find one that played consistently well in the series.

"The front-line guys didn't score for us, so that's something we'll get an opportunity to evaluate this summer," Babcock said. "We didn't keep the puck out of our net good enough, either."

Earlier Monday, Babcock summed up the Wings' plight succinctly.

"Every upper-echelon organization understands the measure is now, not the regular season," he said. "That doesn't mean you blow up the plan from the regular season so you can finish eighth so you can be the underdog. That makes no sense either."

End of an era

It has been an astounding run, 15 straight playoff appearances, three Stanley Cups. But now the Wings are known as much for their embarrassing ousters, and that's why changes are necessary.

The tale of this team, this season, was the closing of an era, even though Yzerman wanted nothing to do with retirement sentiment. He played Monday with a rib-muscle tear, and after wondering early in the game if he could make it, he got stronger and helped the Wings dominate the second period.

Then, in a flash of Edmonton speed and Detroit disarray, it was over. Afterward, Wings players offered no excuses, and no explanations. There was more somberness then anger, almost as if they could see it coming.

If Yzerman was more reflective than usual, it was understandable.

"We have a lot of younger guys as our top players now, and this is a little bit of growing pain," Yzerman said. "It's new for them. Kronwall, Zetterberg and Datsyuk are our three top young guys, and believe it or not, this is going to be a good experience for them.

"This is a big setback, but I really think, with our young players, this organization is in good shape for the future. I really do."

It will be a strange new future, with leaders needed. Schneider called Yzerman the toughest guy he ever played with, and that's probably the best compliment you can give him.

Yzerman was there all the way to the end, even the bitter end, still aching, still skating. If it was not the best finish imaginable, at least he left the ice knowing one thing. He did all he could, for as long as he could.