Past Red Wings legends have words for Steve Yzerman

Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman was amongst the busiest NHL executives this past offseason, adding several new faces to the roster as he continues his work of bringing the team he captained for two decades back to their rightful place in the upper echelons of the National Hockey League. 

And several of Detroit's new roster players have made an immediate impact on the Red Wings success so far in the young 2022-23 season. The likes of Dominik Kubalik and David Perron have gotten off to torrid scoring paces, while goaltender Ville Husso has firmly stated his case to be Detroit's starter with a sparkling 5-1-1 mark and 1.86 goals against average. 

The Red Wings celebrated the 1997 and 1998 Stanley Cup winning teams their past two home games at Little Caesars Arena, and several former team icons were on hand to take part. And they can certainly see that the same work ethic that Yzerman displayed during his playing career has carried over to his front office work. 

“I see the same work ethic that Stevie had as a player, his determination of wanting to get there again, wanting to have a championship team again,” Nicklas Lidstrom said. “I saw that, whether it was in practice or the gym or during games. I see that now in a different way but the same kind of work ethic as a GM, the way he’s still grinding like he did as a player to find ways to be successful.”

“You could see the skill level and IQ and leadership on Team Canada,” said Igor Larionov, who first played against Yzerman in the 1985 World Championship games. “When you played with him day in and day out, you could see his determination and his desire to be the guy who’s going to be leading the way for our group." 

“He didn’t say much, but he was showing by example on the ice. And today I know he has the biggest task to bring the team back to the glory days with Kris (Draper) and some other guys that have been around building the team.”