"I used to tell him you're going to have a 17-year career here, and during that 17 years we're going to win five Stanley Cups," Devellano said. "I thought if he played from 18 to 35, that would be a heck of a career."

The Wings are two Cups short of Devellano's lofty goal, but Yzerman exceeded those great expectations.

"It's been a marvelous career," said Devellano, now the club's senior vice president.

And it's coming to an end soon. Perhaps a year from now, possibly next month, or maybe even by the end of the week, Yzerman will announce his retirement. It will mark the end of a unique era, not only in hockey, but in professional sports. There may never be another athlete like Yzerman, whose longevity, loyalty, leadership, dedication and resilience -- combined with his talent -- make him a rare breed.

"Every time you talk about the Red Wings, there's one guy that comes to mind and that's Stevie Y.," said former Wing Martin Lapointe, the captain of the Chicago Blackhawks. "That's how it's always going to be."

Of all the players who've worn the winged-wheel in the franchise's 80-year history, two stand above the rest -- Gordie Howe and Yzerman. Yzerman is second only to Howe on the club's all-time list in goals (692) and points (1,755), and only Howe and Alex Delvecchio played more seasons and in more games in a Wings uniform.

Yzerman, who turns 41 on Tuesday, has spent his entire 22-year career in one city, a rarity in modern sports, and is the longest-serving captain in NHL history (19 seasons).

"Who is the best Red Wing ever -- Gordie Howe or Steve Yzerman?" asked Nick Polano, Yzerman's first NHL coach. "If you were building a team, it would be a tough call. I'm (biased), but I think (Yzerman) is definitely the best Red Wing of all time."

Lucky No. 4

Heading into his first draft with the Wings, Devellano set his sights on Pat LaFontaine, another highly skilled forward from the Canadian junior ranks and a local kid from Waterford. Detroit was hardly Hockeytown back then as the Wings, dubbed the "Dead Things," had a paltry season-ticket base of 4,000 and regularly played in a half-empty Joe Louis Arena. LaFontaine was somebody they could market their team around.

As luck would have it, the New York Islanders, selecting third, nabbed LaFontaine. That left Yzerman, who grew up near Ottawa and starred for the OHL's Peterborough Petes, as sort of a consolation prize.

"They were equal as juniors," Devellano said. "But nobody (in Detroit) knew who Yzerman was in '83."

It didn't take him long to make an impression. Yzerman led all rookies in scoring (87 points) in 1983-84 and finished second to Buffalo goaltender Tom Barrasso in the Calder Trophy race as rookie of the year.

"The first time I saw him touch the puck I knew he was going to be a special player," Polano said. "For an 18-year-old to be that dominant coming out of juniors ... I'm not at all surprised he's turned out as good as he's been."

LaFontaine had a Hall-of-Fame career, playing for three teams over 15 seasons, but did not have near the impact that Yzerman has had.

Captain's club

After Polano was fired, the Wings went through two more coaches, Harry Neale and Brad Park, during a disastrous 1985-86 season. Then Devellano hired Jacques Demers, whose first big move was naming the 21-year-old Yzerman the youngest captain in team history.

"It was an exciting time for him, but I think he was pretty nervous about it," said Columbus Blue Jackets coach Gerard Gallant, Yzerman's left wing for several seasons. "He was a quiet guy, quiet leader, with lot of veterans around him, and it put a lot of pressure on him. He handled it by his performance on the ice."

Yzerman led the Wings to a remarkable turnaround. They advanced to the conference finals in 1987 and '88, losing both times to the powerful Edmonton Oilers.

His wide array of moves and terrific shot helped make Yzerman one of the game 's most prolific offensive players. Beginning in 1987-88, he reeled off six consecutive seasons with more than 100 points, scoring 50 or more goals five times.

However, his team's string of playoff failures -- it won just one round from 1989 to 1994 -- kept him from earning the kind of respect heaped upon some of his contemporaries, such as Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Mark Messier.

The tough times

Yzerman almost didn't get a chance to lead this team to glory. Twice, he was nearly traded. Bryan Murray, then the team's coach and general manager, strongly contemplated a deal that would have sent Yzerman to Buffalo in 1992-93, ironically, for LaFontaine.

The really close call came in the summer of 1995, after the Wings were swept in the Stanley Cup finals by New Jersey during Scotty Bowman's second season as coach. Bowman, also the club's player personnel director, had owner Mike Ilitch's approval to move Yzerman as long as the Wings got a good return. There was a deal on the table that would have sent Yzerman to Ottawa for center Martin Straka, defenseman Stan Neckar and two first-round picks. At one point Senators GM Randy Sexton told his owner he was close to acquiring Yzerman.

The deal fell apart after the home opener. During pregame introductions, fans gave Yzerman a thunderous five-minute ovation. Bowman was booed lustily. That was the end of any potential trade. The fans had spoken and Yzerman was destined to be a Wing for life.

It was also around that time that Yzerman realized that for this team to get over the hump he would have to alter his game, focus more on defense. And he would also need to become a more forceful leader.

"We were walking up to the plane after we lost to New Jersey, and he said, `I'm sick of losing,'" Lapointe said. "After that he grabbed the team and made sure everybody was accountable and everybody was on the same page and played the system to a T."

Finally, a champion

The Wings appeared on the verge of unraveling in the first round of the playoffs again in 1997, tied 2-2 in their series with St. Louis, when Yzerman delivered a fiery speech to his teammates. It's an address Yzerman has downplayed over the years but one that nonetheless reached epic proportions as the Wings rallied to capture the series. The Wings ended a 42-year drought by sweeping Philadelphia in the Stanley Cup finals and won the Cup again the following season, when Yzerman took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

"When he became a complete player is when it put Steve over the top," Gallant said. "That's when they started winning their Stanley Cups."

Yzerman won the Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward in 2000, something no one could have imagined when he was one of the game's most prolific offensive players. And he helped the Wings win their third Cup in six seasons in 2002.

"He became a much more valuable player when he wasn't getting 150 points, but 80 or 90 points and playing against the other team's top line," Neale said. "He may well be as good a captain as there's been in the league. He came in as an offensive star, will leave as an all-around star. I give him a lot of credit for that. It can't be as much fun when you're not scoring all those points."

"He's a pro's pro, reminds me a lot of (former Edmonton and New York Rangers star) Mark Messier," TV analyst and former NHL goaltender John Davidson said. "Both have the ability to will a team to win, both took franchises and made them winners, both didn't have to say much to make people understand they were leaders, both knew how to play through injuries."

Nearing the end

It's amazing Yzerman has lasted this long considering the numerous injuries he's sustained. He broke his collar bone in 1986. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament in 1988. He had surgery to remove a herniated disc in his neck in 1994. Knee problems limited him to less than 55 games in both 2000-01 and 2001-02. In August 2002, he underwent an osteotomy, a radical knee surgery that nearly forced him to retire. During the 2004 playoffs, he sustained numerous facial injuries after being hit in the eye with the puck.

"I never seen a guy work as hard as he did to get back from injuries," Gallant said. "He could have said at any time, that's enough, but he just wants to play the game."

Said Devellano: "He's one of the strongest-willed people I've ever been associated with."

How much does he have left? That's what Yzerman has been weighing since the Wings were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Edmonton last Monday.

"Lisa (his wife) and I talk about it a lot and we go back and forth," Yzerman said. "Throughout the season I'd leave here after a game thinking quit now. And then there'd be another game where I'd think I got to call Kenny (GM Holland) and tell him I want to play again next year."

Devellano understands why it's such a tough decision.

"What's made it difficult is he played real well down the stretch," Devellano said. "What he has to weigh is his health. Can he do it over an 82-game schedule? He wants to do what's right for the team. Whatever decision he makes will be the right one for him and the team."