Longtime Red Wings captain is a treasure just the way he is

Author: Brian hanley

1999

Every New Year brings a vow to change.

For most of us, anyway.

Odds are Detroit Red Wings center Steve Yzerman will remain much the same as he has been throughout his 17 seasons in the NHL.

Yzerman , who hasn't played for any other NHL team, wants to be one of the few modern-day professional athletes who plays his entire career with one organization.

"I think I have been very lucky, really," Yzerman said. "I think there are a lot of things that have to fall into place for a guy to stay in the same city. It is definitely meaningful to me, particularly in the fact that we have been able to win the Stanley Cup here. But most important, from my perspective, the biggest reason I am in a good position is because I play on a good team with a lot of good players. I don't feel the burden of having to carry the team or anything like that."

Yzerman was the first player to carry the Stanley Cup in 1997 after the Red Wings' four-game sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers ended a 42-year championship drought. He had the same opportunity when they defended the Cup with a four-game sweep of the Washington Capitals.

More important, Yzerman has carried himself with dignity. On the ice, he has led the team in scoring 10 times. He is also the NHL's longest-serving captain. Now 34, he has been the Red Wings' captain since he was 21.

"It has gone by fairly quickly, actually," Yzerman said. "I feel like I've played on four different teams with four different groups of guys. We were rebuilding at one point. We got to the semifinals a couple of times under Jacques Demers, then we backed off a bit. Then Bryan Murray came in (as coach), then Scotty (Bowman). I've been through a lot, but I don't really look back a whole lot."

Throughout his impressive career, which so far has included nine All-Star appearances, Yzerman has remained every bit the unassuming kid who grew up in Cranbrook, British Columbia. His idol was former New York Islanders center Bryan Trottier, who scored 524 goals and had 901 assists during his 18 NHL seasons. With 607 goals and 907 assists, Yzerman already has surpassed Trottier.

"He was my idol," Yzerman said. "I followed him from the minute he came into the NHL. I watched the way he played. I tried to copy a lot of things he did as far as the kind of helmet he wore, the way he celebrated a goal, the way he taped his stick. I just admired the way he played the game and how he carried himself on the ice. I like the fact he was pretty quiet and didn't say a whole lot."

It is the same low-key approach Yzerman and his teammates have taken this season. The Red Wings quietly have overcome injury after injury and have risen to the top of the league standings with 23 victories.

So far, Yzerman's season has included some significant milestones:

On Nov. 17, he became the 10th player in league history to reach 900 assists. He since has moved up to ninth on the all-time list.

On Nov. 20, he notched his 1,500th career point.

On Nov. 24, he played in his 1,200th regular-season game.

On Nov. 26, he became the 11th NHL player to reach the 600-goal mark.

And Yzerman is not done. He hopes to play three more seasons and hang up his skates after 20 years.

"I have looked ahead a little bit," he said. "Realizing that I only have maybe three or four years to go, I'd like to try and get as much done or accomplish as much as I can in the remaining years.

"After having won the Stanley Cup, I'd like the opportunity to do it again. I don't want to squander any opportunities to do that."

Sounds like a New Year's resolution.