All Time Greats in Hockey

[Flubber]

NYE
Salming and Cherry-- I assume that pairing is for the humor only of partnering Cherry with a Swede.

[Kontiki]

Gino Odjick, Mike Ricci and Ryan Smith for the all-looks line.

[Asher]

Ryan Smyth, you mean.

[Kontiki]

Yep, typo.

[Lord Avalon]

Gordie Howe

Gordie Howe hat trick: a goal, an assist, and a fight.

Originally posted by Asher
Tie Domi.

Bah. Bob Probert > Tie Domi. You get 2 min for trolling.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Flubber
NYE
Salming and Cherry-- I assume that pairing is for the humor only of partnering Cherry with a Swede.

[joncha]

Rory Fitzpatrick

[Tingkai]

Frank Mahovlich, Gretzky, Gordie Howe
Denis Potvin and Bobby Orr
Plante

[Grandpa Troll]

Originally posted by Tingkai
Frank Mahovlich, Gretzky, Gordie Howe
Denis Potvin and Bobby Orr
Plante

Frank Mahovlich

I remember watching the New York Islanders with Denis Potvin

[Lord Avalon]

Steve Yzerman became the sixth player to have his number retired by the Detroit Red Wings. A number of members of the Red Wings family attended, including Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, Alex Delvecchio, family members of Terry Sawchuk and Sid Abel (the 5 players with retired jerseys), former teammates Mike Vernon, Steve Duchesne, Larry Murphy, Igor Larionov, Brett Hull, Bob Probert, Joe Kocur, Doug Brown, and Vladimir Konstantinov (who came out with a walker, not in a wheelchair). The current Red Wings were decked out in 5 different jerseys which he's worn (including Team Canada, Campbell Conference All Star, and even Peterborough Petes). Former coaches Jacques Demers, Scotty Bowman, Dave Lewis and Barry Smith were there.

Yzerman took the time to thank Anaheim for agreeing to the ceremony. He thanked the former teammates who were not on the team for whatever reason when they finally won the Stanley Cup. He thanked Scotty for leading them to 3 championships. What a classy guy.

Video of him speaking here: http://www.detroitredwings.com/interactive/. They left out the previous speakers, Scotty, Nick Lidstrom, Jimmy Devellano, Mike Ilitch.

John Niyo
19 FOREVER
True to form, Yzerman credits family, teammates, coaches, fans
DETROIT -- For all his amazing talents, there always has been one skill we overlooked when it came to Steve Yzerman: He always knew the right thing to say, and he always knew when to say it.

Tuesday night, before a packed house at Joe Louis Arena unlike any we've seen here since 2002 -- the last time Lord Stanley's Cup paid a visit -- it wasn't so much the timing that mattered, though.

No, it was the simple, understated way Yzerman -- now officially The Captain forever, as his No. 19 jersey climbed to the rafters at the end of a stirring tribute -- managed to soak it all in and sum it all up, this city's love affair with one of its most cherished sports heroes.

"My first game in Detroit was in October of 1983 against the New Jersey Devils and it was a thrill for me just to step on the ice," he told the fans, smiling sheepishly after he'd waited out a standing ovation -- and chants of "Ste-vie! Ste-vie!" -- that lasted nearly 2 1/2 minutes. "Now here we are 23-plus years later, and once again, you never disappoint me."

From there he went about thanking everyone he could think of, beginning smartly -- and sweetly -- with his wife, Lisa, and their three daughters, all of whom joined him for a red-carpet entrance, with flash bulbs popping.

Nerves? Sure, Yzerman showed a few, particularly when his voice trembled as he addressed the fans at the end of his 20-minute unscripted speech.

"To all of you, I don't know how I can thank you," he began, before faltering and reaching for a bottle of water.

Yzerman shares praise
When the resulting roar had subsided, Yzerman, only the sixth player in franchise history to have his number retired, did what a great leader always does. He made sure everyone felt like part of the team.

"My jersey is going to go up there," he told the crowd, "and I hope as you watch it go up -- and when you come back and you look up there -- you give yourself a pat on the back."

A pat on the back? They gave him a hand instead -- another thunderous ovation.

"I really feel you're a huge reason why that jersey's up there -- I just happened to be the person who wore it," continued Yzerman, who merely scored 692 goals and added a franchise-record 1,063 assists in 23 seasons, the last 20 as the longest-serving captain in NHL history. "So to all of you, I say thank you. From the bottom of my heart, I am sincerely grateful to you all."

Clearly, the feeling is mutual, as the thousands of Yzerman jerseys in the stands would attest. Or the dozens of former coaches and teammates -- from Jacques Demers and Bob Probert to Scotty Bowman and Igor Larionov -- who returned to celebrate a first-ballot Hall of Famer who made a career out of avoiding the spotlight he helped create.

"He led without arrogance or self-indulgence," owner Mike Ilitch said. "Steve Yzerman, you helped build Hockeytown.

Yzerman begged to differ. He took time out to honor the five other Red Wings greats he joined, three of whom -- Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and Alex Delvecchio -- were seated behind him.

"The only way we could truly honor them," he said, "was to play the way they did: with pride."

For Yzerman, being the center of attention is an old hat trick by now, nearly a quarter-century after the "cute kid with a lot of hair" -- Howe's words, not mine -- became the cornerstone of this franchise's rebirth.

"And, oh, what a cornerstone he turned out to be," smiled Jim Devellano, the man who'd convinced Ilitch to draft him in '83.

'The face of Detroit'
Truth is, whether Yzerman admits it or not, he has become so much more than that as an iconic figure who is, as Kris Draper put it, "practically the face of Detroit."

"I'm less uncomfortable with all this than I was when you probably first met me," Yzerman said earlier at a VIP reception where he was honored with more proclamations and plaques -- and even a street sign with his name on it -- than one man could carry. "But the reason for any adulation I get is because I played on a good team with good players and we won. So I just tried not to take myself too seriously."

As for the street sign -- the intersection of Third and Atwater Streets outside the JLA is now "Yzerman Drive" -- Yzerman jokingly said he wished his surname was Smith or Jones.

"In 20 years, people around here aren't going to be able to pronounce it," he said, "It took 20 years for people to learn it."

On this night, though, there was no need for introductions, a fact even Yzerman couldn't help but realize.

"I've never really written a speech, and I don't have one written for tonight," he told me a few hours before he stood at center ice one last time. "But I've thought about what I want to say, and hopefully it comes out the way I mean it, you know?"

We know. And as usual, The Captain came through in the clutch again.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070103/SPORTS08/701030385/1004/SPORTS

The Captain takes his place among Red Wings' greats
By HELENE ST. JAMES
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Throughout his career with the Red Wings, Steve Yzerman knew the right thing to say, whether it was as a rookie captain back in 1986 or during a downward slide in the playoffs back in 2002.

But on Tuesday night at Joe Louis Arena, Yzerman, for a change, listened. Former teammates and coaches, famed alumni of the franchise, joined together to send Yzerman's No. 19 to the rafters before a sell-out crowd that spent most of the nearly 90-minute ceremony on its feet. Fan after fan after fan wore a Wings jersey; jersey after jersey after jersey was Yzerman's.

Former coach Scotty Bowman, who has coached numerous hockey luminaries, was the first to speak.

"The one word that comes to my mind when it comes to Steve is 'responsible,'" Bowman said. "Whether we needed a tying or winning goal, or an important face-off … or any kind of a big play, he was generally responsible for it."

Bowman's next comment stirred the crowd to another round of applause.

"No player I ever coached," Bowman said, "could play with a pain threshold like Steve Yzerman."

Nicklas Lidstrom, who succeeded Yzerman as captain, came next.

"He's been a great captain, a great teammate and a great friend," Lidstrom said, and then, on behalf of the current team, gave Yzerman and his family a trip to the Euro Cup soccer finals in Austria in 2008.

Yzerman was named the youngest captain in franchise history Oct. 7, 1986.

"What you don't see in the record books is how Stevie won the respect of his teammates by doing the right thing day after day," team owner Mike Ilitch said. "He led without arrogance or self-indulgence. … Steve Yzerman, you helped build Hockeytown."

It was senior vice president Jimmy Devellano who decided to draft Yzerman in 1983, and "Oh, what a cornerstone he turned out to be," Devellano said.
Then, it was Yzerman's turn.

"Thank you," he began, stopping as fans yelled his name, clapped, yelled some more, whistled.

A minute went by, then another. Four. Yzerman turned, waved; clutched his hands. The "Ste-vie, Ste-vie" chants ebbed, then rose again.

"You never disappoint me," he said.

Among those Yzerman thanked were his wife, the evening's opponents, former teammates, the club itself.

"The Red Wings organization," he said. "I'm not sure I can fully express my pride, my gratitude. They allowed me to grow up. They supported me when I was down. They encouraged me when I needed encouragement."

Just before his jersey went up, Yzerman made a plea to fans.

"You look up there, give yourselves a pat on the back because I really feel you're a huge reason, a big reason why it's up there," he said. "From the bottom of my heart, I am sincerely grateful to you all."

Then all that was left was for the banner to soar.

Yzerman became the sixth player in team history to have his jersey retired, joining 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.

Howe was among the dozens at center ice, seated on chairs on a red carpet that formed a giant "C" in the neutral zone. Former teammates were there: Danny Gare, the man who was captain before Yzerman. Bob Probert got a tremendously enthusiastic response, second only to the heart-warming cheers that greeted Vladimir Konstantinov, the fierce defenseman whose career ended in a limousine crash in 1997. Brett Hull came, as did Igor Larionov. So did former coaches Jacques Demers and Dave Lewis.

Current Wings came out wearing Peterborough Petes jerseys, honoring the team Yzerman played for when he was drafted; Team Canada jerseys from the 2002 Winter Olympics; Campbell Conference jerseys in recognition of Yzerman's 10 All-Star appearances; and regular Red Wings jerseys.

There was a video montage featuring Yzerman as a boy, as a teenager. Two decades worth of memories in the NHL, set to various songs by U2, Yzerman's favorite band.

Yzerman, 41, retired July 3 after 22 seasons, all of them with the Wings, 20 of them as the captain. He won three Stanley Cups, an Olympic gold medal, scored 692 career NHL goals, going about it all with a humility that belied his immense talent. He never sought the spotlight but his hockey renown won him fans all over North America and beyond.

Before the ceremony, assistant general manager Jim Nill described a scene from his trip to the World Junior Championships in Sweden last week. Yzerman, now a team vice president, was with Nill, as has become habit. Just recently the pair were at a game in Windsor, where Yzerman needed a police escort to get out of the building. It wasn’t any different in Sweden.

"We're in these small little rinks in Leksand and Mora, I figured, 'Who's going to know Steve Yzerman?'" Nill said. "Wouldn't you know it, a couple of kids recognized him in about two minutes."

By the end of his career, Yzerman's 19 was so entwined with him, so much a part of him, its trip to the rafters was a given. Tuesday night, it became official, and one man summed up the night and its meaning better than anyone.

"No one will ever wear No. 19 for the Red Wings again," Bowman said. "Congratulations."

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070102/NEWS99/70102031/1053/SPORTS05

[notyoueither]

It was a really nice ceremony. Yzerman's speech was quite good.

[Kontiki]

Thumbs up for Detroit too for 1) giving him a VP job as soon as he announced his retirement and 2) retiring his jersey the first year he didn't play. He was the definition of a classy leader and an extreme rarity in playing for one organization his entire career. It's nice to see him get duly recognized.

[Tingkai]

Not an all time great, but a legend.

Just came back from a hockey practice that was coached by Barry Beck, a former defenceman and captain of the New York Rangers in the late 70s and early eighties. Played on twice for Canada against the Soviets.

http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=11945

The guy is 50 years old, but effortlessly glides across the ice. Same thing with his shots. He didn't seem to put anything into it, but the puck packed a whallop from the way they hit the net.

[Guynemer]

Yzerman was always my idol growing up. I was only 5 when he first played for the Wings. I don't think I'll ever see the likes of him again.