November 7, 2006

BY HELENE ST. JAMES

Wings veep speaks

Former Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman, now a team vice president, was honored Monday at Joe Louis Arena with the Lester Patrick Award for service to hockey in the United States. He spoke about the award, how he views the Wings and life as a civilian:

On being in the same room with fellow recipients Red Berenson, Reed Larson, Glen Sonmor and Marcel Dionne: "In some way or another, I've had a relationship with them since I came into the league, or even beforehand as a fan. It's a nice group of guys to be affiliated with."

On why he misses hanging out with the Wings: "It prolongs your childhood, really. It's like being in high school again."

On how he sees the Wings: "Our defense is playing well, our goaltending has been solid. We haven't generated a ton of goals; I'm not terribly concerned with that because I think over the course of the season we've got enough guys to score goals. I expect special teams to pick up and be much more effective."

On how he's treated by his former teammates: "They don't recognize me as the vice president of the Red Wings. We'll leave it at that."

On when he gets to work: "My schedule is flexible, so somewhere between 8 and 1 or 2 o'clock, I roll in."

Absolutely none of his former mates call him "Mr. Yzerman." He may wear a suit to work every day, he may roll in to work around 1 p.m., and he may have his own cubicle, but there are limits.

Steve Yzerman has been a front-office man for the Red Wings for about six weeks now. He considers his transition from player to civilian a great one, even if he's still recognized more as the former than the latter by those he so recently played alongside. He retired July 3 after 22 seasons with the Wings, 19 as the captain, and was named a vice president Sept. 25.

On Monday at Joe Louis Arena, he was honored with the Lester Patrick Award in recognition of his outstanding service to hockey in the United States; as usual, Yzerman deflected attention away from himself in talking about what the award meant.

"It's greatly appreciated and I'm grateful to be recognized for playing the game here in the Detroit," he said. "My contribution to hockey in the United States was just playing the game; I don't think I did anything extraordinary."

Yzerman did win three Stanley Cups, and he was awarded the 1998 Conn Smythe as the most valuable player of the playoffs and the 2000 Selke Trophy as the NHL's outstanding two-way forward. Senior vice president Jimmy Devellano, who drafted Yzerman, credits him with reviving the franchise and taking it from a "dead things" moniker to an NHL powerhouse.

Now Yzerman, 41, is learning about the business side of hockey, serving as an assistant to general manager Ken Holland. Yzerman attends most home games, went on the Dallas-St. Louis road trip last month, comes down to Joe Louis Arena weekdays and reads scouting reports, and sometimes lobs a crazy trade at his boss.

"Whether it is players, fans or media, we all have these ideas that this is what this team needs, this is what they should do," Yzerman said. "I throw these ideas at Kenny all the time and he listens and then he explains why some things are done or why they're not done. It's just not as easy as we all want it to be to do things. That's the one thing that I've found very interesting, is just trying to get things done; it's not that simple."

Yzerman sometimes stops by the locker room to say hello or grab something to drink. Teammates like Nicklas Lidstrom, who took over the captaincy from Yzerman, accept that Yzerman has a new job because "we've seen his office, so it's got to be true," Lidstrom said, but they don't use his title or anything. "No," Lidstrom said with a smile. "We haven't stretched it that far yet."

Not once has Yzerman been tempted to join a practice. His skates are in his basement, and he doesn't plan to use them at all this year. He spends his free time helping out with breakfast and ferrying his three daughters to and from horseback riding, soccer, tennis and lacrosse. He has gone to a few college football games, and thoroughly appreciated sitting next to MSU athletic director Ron Mason last Friday to watch the Spartans play the Wolverines at Munn Arena.

"I'm enjoying a post-playing career," Yzerman said. "Life has slowed down a little bit. The schedule isn't as hectic."

His body, battered over the years by severe knee injuries, a neck problem that caused tendinitis in his shoulders, and multiple groin injuries, is doing much better, though the right knee, Yzerman said, is always going to be an issue. He tries to stay active, though he has discovered what every other lay person knows: It's so much easier not to work out.

"It's been a struggle at times," he said. "You've got stuff going on and your routine isn't a high priority and then by the end of the day, it's like, 'Oh, I'll try again tomorrow.' I've seen how that is easy to push onto the back burner."

For more than two decades, Yzerman thrived on the routine of a professional hockey player; now, he is adapting to a new one. He watches Wings games with a purpose; he reads up on how prospects are doing, he realizes how a player might fit into the salary cap. He plans to go overseas for a few scouting trips, and says that he might one day play some sort of role with Hockey Canada.

"I'm observing and trying to stay on top of everything and asking a lot of questions," Yzerman said. "It's been a great transition for me."