Steve Yzerman talks about Alumni Showdown, Team Canada and his Lightning
By Stefan Kubus –
DETROIT – It doesn’t seem that long ago that Steve Yzerman was dazzling crowds and leading the charge for the Detroit Red Wings on a nightly basis, often fighting through injuries with this unrivaled determination to do so.
Now, Yzerman is at the helm of the Eastern Conference’s top team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. And believe it or not, he said he hasn’t looked back since, fully enjoying the management side of the game.
“I really enjoy being in management,” Yzerman said. “I love watching the game, I like being in the rink. I just really don’t have a real desire to put skates back on.
“I’ve had skates on like three times to do something minor. I’ve just kind of moved on a little bit. I don’t have time to skate and don’t really have a real desire to.”
When he made his return to Detroit as vice president and general manager of the Bolts, Yzerman addressed the question of whether or not he will make an appearance in downtown Detroit in late December for the 2014 SiriusXM Hockeytown Winter Festival to participate in one of the Alumni Showdown games.
“I haven’t given it really much thought,” Yzerman said. “I’ve been pretty busy with our team and watching a lot of hockey games for the Olympics, so I haven’t really looked that far ahead.”
Yzerman added that he and Red Wings GM Ken Holland “haven’t really talked about it.”
In addition to his GM duties for Tampa Bay, Yzerman also has to balance his duties as executive director for Team Canada’s 2014 Olympic team.
“Really, all I really do is watch hockey games during the season when the puck drops to start the season,” Yzerman said. “Pretty much six, sometimes seven, nights a week you’re watching the game. I guess this year in October-November, I’d say I’ve watched more NHL and a little bit less of the American League… The good thing now is, with the Internet and whatnot, I can catch a lot of our minor league team, watch their games the next morning or whatnot on the Internet.”
While it’s not the clear-cut, affirmative answer that the Red Wings faithful were itching to hear, one thing is certain: it would be pretty hard to imagine such a star-studded cast in Detroit without the franchise’s longtime captain of 20 years.
“I don’t even own a pair of skates, so I may have to take up a collection,” Yzerman said.
Tampa’s Electric Start
Yzerman’s Lightning are off to a tremendous, and almost quiet, 12-4-0 start to the 2013-14 campaign, atop not only the Atlantic Division, but also the entire Eastern Conference.
“It’s still relatively early,” Yzerman said. “Our goaltending has been pretty good. Some of our younger players had played a little bit in the NHL last year. I think that benefited them; they’re more comfortable, they’ve added some depth to our team… Our defense has been reasonably solid; we move the puck well so, in general, it’s a decent start.”
The dynamic duo of 23-year-old superstar Steven Stamkos and the 38-year-old ageless wonder Martin St. Louis – a combined 38 points through 15 games – have led the charge for the Lightning through the young season. Last season, St. Louis captured the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading scorer, with 60 points in 48 games. Stamkos finished second, right behind him, with 57 points.
“Marty is still playing at the highest level,” Yzerman said. “Steven Stamkos has even elevated his game to a higher level.”
Yzerman – while pleased with the early results – stressed that, unlike last year’s shortened season, this season is a 82-game marathon, not a 48-game sprint.
“We have a tough stretch of games coming up here against some of the top teams in the East and the West, so it will be a good test to see where we’re at.”
Another undoubtably crucial key to Tampa Bay’s early success is the emergence of Valtteri Filppula as the club’s No. 2 center replacing longtime Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier the team bought out the remainder of Lecavalier’s contract.
Having seen plenty of Filppula in Detroit, Yzerman said he certainly knew what his team was getting when they signed him to a five-year deal this past July.
“He’s been really good for us; he’s a much-needed fit,” Yzerman said of Filppula. “His all-around game really works with us well. The style of play our coach wants the team to play, he fits into that. When we elected to buy out Vinny (Lecavalier), there was a huge hole in the middle there, and we hoped to bring in a center-man. Fortunately, he was available, so it’s been a good fit for us.”
Centering the Lightning’s second line and seeing plenty of power play minutes, the former Red Wing is tied for third in Lightning scoring, with 12 points through 15 games.