Red Wings to retire Yzerman's jersey

Canadian Press

8/30/2006 1:52:19 PM

DETROIT (CP) - No player will ever again don Stevie Y's No. 19 in Hockeytown.

The Detroit Red Wings announced Wednesday they will retire Steve Yzerman's jersey number Jan. 2 in a pre-game ceremony at Joe Louis Arena.

"For a long time, there was no doubt in ownership's mind that Steve Yzerman would play his entire career with the Detroit Red Wings and that his sweater would fittingly go up into the rafters along with the other all-time greatest Red Wing players - Abel, Delvecchio, Howe, Lindsay and Sawchuk," senior vice-president Jim Devellano, who drafted Yzerman, said in a statement.

"As to picking a date, we wanted to be sure that this will be a very special evening and with that, it takes a lot of planning."

Yzerman's No. 19 will join Terry Sawchuk's No. 1, Ted Lindsay's No. 7, Gordie Howe's No. 9, Alex Delvecchio's No. 10 and Sid Abel's No. 12 as being retired by the Wings.


The 41-year-old Yzerman, who grew up in the Ottawa suburb of Nepean, announced his retirement July 3. He spent his entire 22-year career with the Red Wings and helped turn the franchise into one of the most successful of the modern era, winning three Stanley Cups.

Yzerman met with Devellano and general manager Ken Holland in Toronto on Tuesday, discussing the legend's future with the team. There has been talk of Yzerman joining the Wings' front office in some capacity.

"I'd love to have Steve come in and be a key member of organization - that's what we're discussing," Holland told the Detroit Free Press. "From our perspective, we want him to be as involved as Steve wants to be."

The team's captain since 1986, Yzerman played in 1,514 regular-season games, scoring 692 goals and racking up 1,755 points, sixth all-time in NHL history. A 10-time all-star, Yzerman was voted league MVP by his peers in 1989 and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 1998. In addition to his Stanley Cup wins, Yzerman was a key part of Canada's gold-medal squad at the 2002 Olympics, playing the tournament essentially on one knee.<

Yzerman is the Red Wings' all-time leader in playoff scoring. He ranks first in assists and second only to Howe in games played, goals and points in the regular season.

The one-hour ceremony Jan. 2 comes before a game against the visiting Anaheim Ducks.