Abel to Yzerman
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by IwoCPO on 01/08/09 at 03:01 PM ET
Comments (19)
Two years, six days ago the inevitable happened in Detroit and it was interesting to note how it was covered in Hockeytown.
Here’s part of the post we gave you the morning of the event.
My favorite moment? Yzerman huffing up the right wing last year in a road loss against Carolina
Five minutes left in the first and the Wings were getting blown out. Listless, three goals down and essentially done. Yzerman picks up the puck on the right side in his own zone and rides his captaincy downhill. The ice tilting, picking up speed, eluding various Canes then making a sharp left at the faceoff dot, willing himself across the crease, flicking the puck past Gerber, airborne, back on his skates, a fist pump then a glare at the bench. His bench.
Thanks to Daniel in Edmonton, here’s a clip of that goal.
It’s easy to point to playoff wins, celebrations to the tune of badly outdated music, dramatic moments, recounts of a speech that we’ll probably never know the true meaning of, wars with Denver, wars with St. Louis and even Phoenix, losses to San Jose, New Jersey, Calgary. Broken feet and wrecked knees.
But, to me, the true Yzerman greatness is best reflected in a burst up the wing, in an 0-3 game, in the middle of January, followed by a glare to his teammates that said, “you don’t lie down for anyone with that jersey on.”
The greatest Captain ever. Any sport. Any era.
Neat. And the next day? The day after the ceremony? The one our city’s top two columnists decided NOT to cover?
Do I need to say another thing about Detroit’s media? Ever again? Let me be very clear about this. Steve Yzerman’s jersey was retired at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena last evening and the lead columnists for both Detroit papers did NOT cover it. I started this blog one year and 4 days ago. Why? Because of garbage exactly like that. I am disgusted. Offended.
Not now. Not today. I’ll be back to that. You know I will.
Nope, not done yet. Hey Mitch, Wojo…the greatest captain in hockey history was honored last night by a city that considers him a true hero. If you want to read about it, since you didn’t cover it, I have an idea for you.
Head over to Behind the Jersey, because a UM sophomore, 20 years old and “only a blogger”, kicked your candy asses.
Again
Yep. Christy whipped ‘em both.
——-
Disappointing news. Andrew and I had to postpone the A2Y drunkfest scheduled for tonite. He’s battling NYC traffic and it would seem that I actually have to earn your tax dollars this evening. We’ll probably make it happen Saturday. Details on that to follow.
Yes, there will be a live blog tonite. Around 1900, as usual.
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Comments
I think this is the goal you’re talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxYpvlAQf5s
He was one of the best.
Posted by Daniel from Edmonton, AB on 01/08/09 at 03:56 PM ET
My favorite Stevie goal was in Game 2 of the 1997 WCF against roy and the dive. IIRC, it gave the Wings their first lead in the series and was the game winner. The Wings lost game one 2-1. Game 2 was tied at 2 and the next goal would be the game winner; an 0-2 hole or a 1-1 tie hung in the balance. Stevie swooped down from the left wing, fired a shot that roy stopped and then Stevie banked the rebound off of roy while he(Stevie) was already past the goal line. It was a thing of beauty, made all the more beautiful because it was such a critical time in the game and the series.
This goal doesn’t have the panache of a 2OT Game 7 series ender against the bitterblues, but the bitterblues were never a rival like the dive were, once upon a time.
Posted by CaptainDennisPolonich from Warm and sunny SoCal on 01/08/09 at 04:25 PM ET
the highest scoring team in NHL history
Hyperbole much? The Wings weren’t even the highest scoring team that season (second to Quebec), much less of all time. They weren’t the highest scoring Wings team in history either, that nod goes to the ‘93 squad.
Posted by shep on 01/08/09 at 04:44 PM ET
“hyperbole much?” is probably the smartest dumb sentence I’ve ever read. Thanks.
Posted by J.J. from Kansas on 01/08/09 at 04:50 PM ET
I think this is the goal you’re talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxYpvlAQf5s
He was one of the best.
Thanks Daniel. See above.
Posted by IwoCPO from Sunny San Diego, bitches on 01/08/09 at 05:14 PM ET
I was there sitting a few rows up behind the bench that night in Carolina. The wings were playing like crap, going through the motions seemingly waiting for the end of the game so they could take the first flight out. I was sitting there thinkin, ya know, this is a waste of a lot of good, hard earned money to see my team play like this. Then, Yzerman takes the puck and wills himself coast to coast for the goal. It wasn’t the prettiest goal in the world, but after watching that play, I often thought that after he picked up the puck in his zone, Yzerman made up his mind that there was no way in the world that the puck wasn’t going to end up in the goal, legally or otherwise.
Posted by UMFan from Colorado on 01/08/09 at 05:16 PM ET
Other than the obvious (Game 7 against the Blues, lifting Cup #1 above his head, singlehandedly willing that team through the 1st round series against Vancouver in 2002), my favorite moment is from the 1997 (I think) WCFs against the Dive. Forgive me for not getting the details 100% correct, but I remember the goal vividly, if not the circumstances. Stevie is skating down the left wing with the puck and is essentially 1-on-1 with the Dive defenseman, who has pretty good position. Yzerman gives a little burst of speed as if to go outside, but at the last minute slides the puck inside under the defenseman’s extended stick, while lifting his own stick over it, leans into the D-man from the outside, and roofs the puck on the short side past Roy. That goal embodied everything Yzerman had become in his prime. It wasn’t a flashy move, but a direct one that required skill, smarts, and willpower. It probably won’t end up on any career highlight reels, but it was one of my favorite goals of his, and it came at a crucial point in the game (again, I don’t remember the specifics but I remember it coming late in a close one). Stevie was not very flashy by the mid-90s, but damn was he effective.
The Chief is right. Greatest. Captain. Ever.
Posted by Incognetis from Delaware... Hi... I'm in... Delaware on 01/08/09 at 05:19 PM ET
Great post at Red Wings and Beer.
Posted by IwoCPO from Sunny San Diego, bitches on 01/08/09 at 05:28 PM ET
All these flashback posts remind me of the Delicate Genius.
Sorry, I had to get a jab in there Chief.
Posted by aaron from phoenix on 01/08/09 at 06:18 PM ET
One of my all time favorite Steve Yzerman moments is the crafty veteran move away from Sasquatch. Which led to the gigantic goon ending his own season with a total cheap shot on The Captain.
Lets Go Red Wings!!!!!
Posted by Kate from Pa.-made in Detroit on 01/08/09 at 06:35 PM ET
I still miss him.
and we always will. I’ve always said he affected me more than any other person I’ve never met. I remember watching that final game in 1997. I was at The Green Dot sports bar with a bunch of friends and people from the newspaper (yeah I was a scab). I left and went home after the second period. It was fun to be there with everyone enjoying the excitement, but I really just wanted to be home, alone, and take it all in. that or I didn’t want everyone to see me balling when he lifted the Cup over his head.
Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach on 01/09/09 at 01:23 AM ET
Stevie swooped down from the left wing, fired a shot that roy stopped and then Stevie banked the rebound off of roy while he(Stevie) was already past the goal line.
go to 4:30…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA7gfd9CqA4&feature=related
Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach on 01/09/09 at 01:38 AM ET
go to 4:30…
Thanks Paul. 2:05’s not too bad either, eh Sasquatch?
Posted by IwoCPO from Sunny San Diego, bitches on 01/09/09 at 03:45 AM ET
I’m not 100% sure when this is from, I think it may be the 1999 regular season, but this is one of my personal favourite Captain moments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9HrR57tVR4
I know the quality’s crap, it’s the only video I could find on youtube though. Stevie’s sometimes forgotten “other OT GWG.” Just absolutely dekes Roy out of his jockstrap, and then the ping off the post just to rub it in.
Posted by Alzy from Innisfail, Alberta, Canada on 01/09/09 at 04:00 AM ET
On a related note. While Googling A2Y I came across this little gem.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/columnist/montgomery/2006-07-03-montgomery-yzerman_x.htm
Posted by WingsFanInBeanLand from Lidstrom's head telling him 1 more year on 01/09/09 at 06:53 AM ET
On a related note. While Googling A2Y I came across this little gem.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/columnist/montgomery/2006-07-03-montgomery-yzerman_x.htm
that article starts out strong and kind of fades at the end. the monumental nature of the 2002 playoff run was given a paragraph and I think it deserves more. sure the things he did early in his career with bringing this team out of the basement against all the opinions of the “experts” are important, but to really solidify in someone’s mind what he was all about that person must understand what he did in 2002. in a day and age when athletes take days or even weeks off for injuries half the severity and a quarter the pain of what Yzerman was going through, calling what he did in 2002 mind-blowing would not do it justice. most captains can’t drag their team single-handedly through the playoffs when healthy…Steve Yzerman did it almost literally on one leg.
here’s another one…
sorry to jolt you like that. remember him falling down, kicking his legs around, getting up again, falling down again, and trying to get himself off the ice? I remember it like it was 5 minutes ago. most players would have laid there. even through essentially a broken face, he still tried to keep going under his own power.
Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach on 01/12/09 at 11:50 AM ET
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My favorite Yzerman moments will always be the ‘97 Cup being raised over his head and the crowd just losing its mind over the sheer joy of him finally winning it as well as the Game Seven 2OT winner against Jon Casey and the Blues at the Joe, my other favorite Yzerman moment isn’t as festive but just as moving in its message.
It was against the Devils in the ‘95 SCFs. Thoroughly frustrated for four games when the Wings ran into that notoriously infamous Devils neutral-zone trap that rendered the highest scoring team in NHL history impotent, Yzerman scored a goal in the dying moments of Game Four. The game was out of reach by then. He didn’t pump his fists. He didn’t celebrate. He didn’t look for congratulations. He seemed like he just wanted to get to the faceoff circle, win that faceoff, and try for another goal however impossible it seemed with the game clearly out of reach. All he did was lay his lumber across the tops of his knee pads and tried to catch his breath. Sweat pouring off his chin. Pain searing across his back as if he was almost just too tired of carrying his team on his back. It was a heartbreaking moment to see him so beaten down in the SCFs.
Posted by SYF from a "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on 01/08/09 at 03:37 PM ET