May 5, 2006

BY HELENE ST. JAMES

FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Standing in the dressing room at Joe Louis Arena as he and teammates cleaned out their lockers, Yzerman, who turns 41 Tuesday, hinted he might be back for a 23rd season. This was in stark contrast to Monday night, when, soon after the Wings had been eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the playoffs, Yzerman said he had made up his mind about his future and would announce it soon.

Thursday he said he still hadn't decided.

"For the last two days, I've gone back and forth on what I want to do," he said. "There's not really a huge rush. There's no need for me to really do it, but the only reason I want to do it is because I don't care to drag this on one way or another. ... I go back and forth virtually every hour on what I want to do. I mean, the season is two days over and I didn't expect to be standing here talking about this right now."

Yzerman said he and his wife, Lisa, are still talking it over. "Lisa and I, we talk about it a lot and we go back and forth. Throughout the season I'd leave here thinking, after a game, like, 'Just quit now, Steve.' And then there'd be another game and (think), 'Man, I've got to call Kenny (Holland); I want to play again next year.'

"I've gone back and forth. Now over the course of the next few days I can really maybe make a decision and live with it for a few days and if I'm comfortable with it, stick with it; if not, I can change my mind."

Yzerman plans to meet with general manager Ken Holland soon and talk about what's best for the team.

At least one teammate thinks it's crucial to the survival of the Wings that Yzerman continue to play. "It would be like if he didn't play, the team should fold, you know what I mean?" goaltender Manny Legace said. "He is the face. He is Detroit. He is the Red Wings."

What Yzerman had to say Thursday:

On what his decision comes down to: "I want to be a good hockey player if I play. That was a challenge for me this year. I don't just want to play it out. I want to be on the ice in a lot of important situations, recognizing that I'm not going to play ahead of a lot of guys on this team. But my health goes hand in hand with being a good player, and if I'm not healthy I'm not going to be a good player, so that's something I have to weigh. I'm going to do the best thing for the team and the best thing for me, and I think they're one and the same, really."

When he will make his decision: "I'll sit down with our organization and see what they want to do next year and I can figure out very quickly whether it's right for me to come back, if I fit in or I don't. That's maybe the biggest, most decisive factor."

On how this is the best he has skated since 2002: "I was pleasantly surprised by that and I don't know why, but I felt like I could skate better now than at any time since I had that last knee surgery. The biggest reason for me to quit over the last couple of years was the inability to get on the ice and I felt better in the last two months than I have in the last five years, and I don't really have a good explanation for that."

On whether he feels his age: "Uhhm, some of the injuries -- like, three different occasions this year, I suffered a muscle tear in three different locations. A good friend of mine is an orthopedic surgeon and we talk about it. I look for a good medical explanation from him and he just says, 'Steve, I hate to tell you, but you're 40 years old and that's what happens, things change.' I've got a lot of energy, I've got a lot of enthusiasm, but there's differently significant changes. Things are different, whether it's tendonitis - things change, and I've noticed the difference in the last couple of years."

On whether he even thought Monday was his last game, as he left the ice: "Not really. Honestly, I just wanted to get out of the building, I just can't believe this happened. I just want to get out of here, that's what I was thinking."

On a future outside hockey: "I have no notions that whenever it is that I retire to step in and take anybody's job. I wouldn't expect that and I don't deserve that. So, once this is all said and done, we'll figure it out. I'd like to stay in the game. The closest you can come to playing is whether you're in coaching or management, to get that same adrenaline and excitement out of what you do. I want to stay in the game, and we'll figure something out. I don't know if I would (coach). But that is the closest you can come to experience being on the ice. That part appeals to me, but I think I am more interested in the management side of hockey."

His opinion of the team: "They're going to make a few significant changes, but ... I think a lot of the changes that were made to the team this year were positive. (Johan) Franzen is going to get better, Sammy (Mikael Samuelsson) is going to get better. And quite frankly, Pav (Pavel Datsyuk) and Hank (Henrik Zetterberg), this was a great year for them in that they became dominant guys and they relished the role. This playoff experience is going to be good for them in the long run. They're mentally strong guys, and they're competitive guys, so they will come back and be stronger for it. They will be our best players in the playoffs in the future."

On how Datsyuk and Zetterberg did in the playoffs: "I thought Henrik was outstanding. He had six goals, and he does everything well. And everyone is all over Pavel (no goals) but I watched him play closely and he didn't score but he played really well and he competed hard. People have to understand that he was out for three weeks before the playoffs with a significant charley horse, significant enough that they had to drain blood out of it. He came back and played extremely well, he just didn't score. I find no fault in his effort."