By Phil Coffey and Shawn Roarke | NHL.com
The changing of the guard is official for the Detroit Red Wings.

Steve Yzerman, the Wings' longtime captain and inspirational leader, as well as one of the greats in NHL history, made his retirement official Monday at a press conference.

Steve Yzerman
"I just had this feeling it is time for me to move on," Yzerman said.

Yzerman arrived in Detroit as a first-round selection in 1983, the fourth-overall pick of the Entry Draft. At the time, the Red Wings were far removed from their current status as one of the NHL's elite teams, but with Yzerman in the fold, a new era dawned in "Hockeytown".

Yzerman leaves the ice with tremendous scoring stats, 692 goals and 1,063 assists in 1,514 regular-season games. In 196 Stanley Cup Playoff games, he scored 70 goals and 115 assists.

But Yzerman will not be remembered for his statistics. He was far more than a point producer, he became the soul and conscience of not only the Red Wings, but to a large degree, hockey in general. Yzerman was a prime-time player in international competition, a staple on Team Canada's various rosters for Olympic and Canada Cup competitions.

"With his leadership and determination, with his devotion to the team concept, with his refusal to accept anything less than the best, Steve Yzerman became the symbol of the Detroit Red Wings' standard of excellence in the modern era," said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in a statement. "The National Hockey League is grateful for Steve's many contributions to the sport, nationally and internationally, and wishes him only good things in the future."

Yzerman was the NHL's longest-serving captain, serving in that capacity for a mind-boggling 20 seasons.

He has never been a rah-rah type of captain, although he has been known to deliver the occasional, well-timed motivational speech. No, Yzerman always has been about leading through example, both on and off the ice.

"Leadership is so important," said Wayne Gretzky, the Phoenix Coyotes coach and NHL great who turned to Yzerman repeatedly for Olympic competition. "I can speak first-hand about that after the disappointment our Canadian Olympic Team had this year. I never realized how much our team would miss the leadership we got from Stevie Yzerman, Mario Lemieux and Al MacInnis when we won the gold medal in 2002. As we were going through that tournament, it became clear to me that we needed one or two more guys to help deflect the pressure of the world stage.

"When you look at the Red Wings and see how Stevie and Chris Chelios help deflect the pressure of the situation from everyone else on the team, it makes it so much easier for the other guys -- Nicklas Lidstrom, Brendan Shanahan, Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby and the rest. Those ultimate skills and leadership qualities ... you can't underestimate teams that have that in place."

"When I first got here, I was in awe of him, and my buddies back in Toronto couldn't believe I was his teammate," Kirk Maltby told reporters recently. "But I quickly found out that he's just an easy-going, approachable guy, whether you're a young kid trying to make it or a veteran star."

And, once the puck drops, he is the definition of a leader.

During the 1987-88 season, he began an electrifying streak of six straight 100-plus point seasons. In 1996-97, he led the team to its first Stanley Cup in more than 40 years. The next year, another Cup followed. In 2002, he added a third Stanley Cup ring to his collection.

Through it all -- the incredible highs and the unspeakable lows -- Yzerman played the game with a grace and humility that captured the hearts of the region's passionate puckheads. He could always be counted on for the big goal, the perfect pass, the faceoff win, the defensive wizardry that saw Detroit through a tight time.

Way back when, Yzerman made the NHL All-Rookie Team and over the years accumulated quite the trophy case. He won the Lester Pearson Award as the NHLPA's most valuable player in 1989, the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 1998, an NHL First Team All-Star in 2000, the Selke Trophy as the NHL's best defensive forward in 2000, the Bill Masterton for sportsmanship, perseverance and dedication to hockey in 2003 and was named to 10 NHL All-Star Games.

But his greatest accomplishment was a hat trick of Stanley Cups, won in 1997, '98 and '02.

"It was Gordie Howe and then Wayne Gretzky, but at an age of about 12 or 13 Steve Yzerman came into the League, and me being from Detroit, I just took a huge liking to his game and we were both centermen," St. Louis veteran Doug Weight said. "And I just followed his career real closely after that."

Yzerman will certainly be a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee and it wouldn't be the least bit surprising to never see another player wear No. 19 for the Red Wings again.

Yzerman has battled serious injuries over his last few seasons, including serious knee surgery, a bad eye injury and assorted other maladies that conspired to keep him from peak performance on the ice. Last season, he appeared in 61 games, scoring 14 goals and 20 assists.

So, it's not surprising Yzerman, who is now 41, thought about hanging up the skates for good this past fall. At the time, he could not play to the high level he demanded of himself, could not deliver the game-changing plays that he had made his calling cards during two decades as the Wings' captain.

He saw contemporaries -- players like Scott Stevens, Mark Messier, Ron Francis and Dave Andreychuk -- walk away willingly or be forced from the game. He feared that he would be next to meet that fate.

"For a little while I did (consider retiring)," said Yzerman. "It was difficult to get going, late November, early December. It was a struggle for a little while and it was something to consider."

Steve Yzerman celebrates his 500th career goal in 1996.
Detroit coach Mike Babcock believes Yzerman is among the all-time greats, as well as a huge reason that Detroit won the Presidents' Trophy this season as the League's best regular-season team.

"When you don't see him every day, you don't notice him as much," Babcock said. "But now that I've seen him up close on a daily basis, I think he's phenomenal, and he's in the conversation with anybody that has played this game."

"Early in my career, (I'd) be extremely nervous, where I found myself always extremely nervous without a lot of experience," said Yzerman. "I found in the last few years I've just gotten much more comfortable and you kind of know what to expect and you know what it's all about."

And now, he knows it is time to move on.

Fans recall Yzerman

(Editor's note - When word came down that Steve Yzerman was going to announce retirement, NHL.com reached out to Paul Kukla of kuklaskorner.com for his thoughts on Yzerman, after all, Paul has seen him up close for years. Other hockey bloogers also have contributed their thoughts on Yzerman's great career. Many thanks to Paul, Mike Chen and Todd Howell.)
***

With Steve Yzerman in the lineup, Wings fans knew we always had a chance to win a game. Now that security blanket has left us. July 3, 2006, the day Detroit Red Wings fans shed a tear or two.

We knew the day was coming and tried to convince ourselves to be prepared. But it hit us like a ton of bricks, took away our breath and left us stunned and dazed. No. 19 will never be seen on the ice again.

I joked with a fellow blogger a week or so ago the No. 19 is not worn by anyone in Detroit sports, both amateur and pro, but today I am not kidding. No more No. 19 for anyone in Detroit, we cannot look at someone else wearing it again. Besides, who could live up to it?

I have been lucky enough to watch Gordie Howe perform when he still was a dominant player. Yzerman was different, he did not control the game like Gordie would, but his determination and effort allows me to put Steve and Gordie in the same class. How can we forget the constant drive and professionalism Yzerman has showed us? Simple, we can't! But we can pass those valuable assets on to our children and even to ourselves. Be like Stevie when times our tough, your chances of working things out are better if you follow the examples he has passed on to all of us Not only was Steve admired by Detroit fans, but by fans all over the world, especially Canada. How many times have I heard he was the inspiration for the Canadian National Teams. He lead the leaders, showed them how to handle themselves on and off the ice. Many of his fellow NHLers have mentioned Yzerman was their idol! Kids from B.C to N.S. list Stevie as the player they would most want to be like. Players who have retired from the NHL state Yzerman was the key to the Wings, without him they may have never won three cups in the last ten years.

The game of hockey says goodbye to one of the greatest of all time. He will be missed, remembered and mostly thanked for all he gave back to the game.

"The Captain" leaves us wanting more and all we have now are the memories to hold on to.

-- Paul Kukla

***

With the reports that Steve Yzerman is finally calling it quits, it's time to reflect on the captain of the Red Wings. For me personally, I can never think about Stevie Y and not have memories of college play back in my head. No, it's not because the Red Wings won their 1996 Cup my freshman year of college (I distinctly recall getting the news about the horrific limo accident following the Cup victory the morning I was packing up my dorm room). No, it was because I had plenty of Swingers moments starting with a friend whom I had met freshman year and lived with the rest of my college career. You see, while I entered school (UC Davis for anyone that cares) an unabashed Blackhawks fan, little did I know that the guy two doors down was a Red Wings fan (we were also mutually Sharks fans, but these were our alternate teams -- in my case, I grew up loving the Hawks and they were my No. 1 team until I finally got fed up with Chicago booting the team's fan favorites). As a Red Wing fan, he loved Steve Yzerman. And when we first got NHL 97 (remember, EA years are always one ahead of normal years) for my computer, the gauntlet was thrown and the battles began.

It came in various forms -- Detroit vs. Chicago, Detroit vs. Phoenix (due to my Jeremy Roenick fandom), well, pretty much Detroit vs. anyone else. It was always ALWAYS Stevie Y kicking my butt. Even when we got to international teams, I gravitated towards Team USA -- not because I was rah-rah from the World Cup victory, but because it had a bunch of my favorite Hawks and ex-Hawks (Roenick, Amonte, Chelios, Suter) on it. My buddy used Team Canada, and who was his No. 1 center? Not Sakic. Not Gretzky. Stevie Y. Always.

After that year, we moved in with a couple other guys and prepared for sophomore year by getting NHL 98. This time, the stakes were raised -- we held a fantasy draft to create our custom teams. These teams, along with the continued epic battles of USA, Czech (my other roommate's favorite team due to Dominik Hasek), and Canada, meant that our teams were now filled with all-stars of all levels. No worries about contracts (or in today's world, salary caps); these teams were built for arcade-style scoring. When your fourth line center is Eric Lindros circa 1997, well, that's a pretty good example of depth.

Several players dogged me consistently from my buddy's team -- Pavel Bure and Sergei Zubov were notable (one of my constant sayings throughout college was "%*!# Zubov!") -- but they were always led by Stevie Y. Other players may have scored more in various contests, but the goal was to always knock out Yzerman if possible -- preferably with Jeremy Roenick if the situation was available.

This rivalry was heated up by a Starting Lineup One-on-One piece that decorated our apartment. The players? Steve Yzerman and Jeremy Roenick -- the Roenick figure was notable because this came out right after the 1996 season started and Roenick was given a Phoenix 27 jersey, not his customary post-Chicago 97. I guess the Starting Lineup guys weren't Teppo Numminen fans.

Every time I managed to have a good game on NHL 97, 98, 99, or 2000, it didn't matter -- my friend held the trump card. "Hey Mike," he'd ask after one of JR's good games, "How many times has JR done this?" while raising an invisible Stanley Cup over his head. I never had an answer.

After we graduated, we moved to different areas and the EA Sports rivalry was laid to rest (though with the advent of online gaming, it could always return), but my friend's undying loyalty to Steve Yzerman continued -- most notably, by the autographed 8x10s of Stevie Y holding the Stanley Cup and the Roenick/Yzerman Starting Lineup in the guest room of his house. I suppose it's a measure of my respect for Steve Yzerman the player, not the video game character, that when we got together with our friends for our annual fantasy draft, it was pretty much unspoken that Stevie Y was untouchable except for our obsessed friend.

As the years passed and Yzerman and Roenick became less and less of impact players, the ongoing joke became who was doing crappier instead of who was doing better. After the lockout year, my friend couldn't make it down to the Bay Area for our fantasy draft. He trusted us to draft for him, but he had one caveat -- give him Stevie Y with his last pick.

With Yzerman retiring, a decade of stories, memories, and hijinx can be put into the archives. It's funny, for a player that accomplished so much, my memories of him will always be related to my college video game days and, to a lesser extent, post-college fantasy hockey. And while Stevie Y rides off into the sunset, I begrudgingly salute him even though he always held the ultimate trump card over me. After all, it never mattered what Roenick accomplished for me in video games; in real life, my friend could always ask "How many times has JR done this?" while raising his invisible Stanley Cup and win the argument.

Enjoy retirement, Steve Yzerman -- you've earned it. I just hope they don't put you on classic teams in future video games.

-- Mike Chen

***

Being a longtime Red Wings fan, there are obviously many Yzerman memories. One of my favorites is probably the same as many others, his late overtime playoff goal in St. Louis, especially since I drove down and went to the game, incredible. Others include him playing through injuries, going down to block shots and re-tooling his contract to aquire players like Cujo. The consummate professional, I feel like there is a lump in my chest and a huge hole in my heart knowing that he will not be back, it's a dark day for Detroit.

-- Todd A. Howell