When Steve Yzerman talks, people listen. He’s the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, and he’s sure got the experience for it. He played all 22 seasons of his NHL playing career with the Red Wings and is regarded as one of the best players ever.
Drafted as the 4th overall in 1983, Yzerman never left Detroit and retired with 1,514 games played and 1,755 recorded points. Yzerman became an honored member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009, and five years ago, he was named one of the ”100 greats NHL Players” in history.
But Yzerman has also proved he’s got some great abilities off the ice.
He was a successful general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and now he’s building an exciting group of players in Detroit. Since Yzerman joined the Red Wings in 2019, the team has got its hands on some real top-notch prospects, such as Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider.
With Yzerman’s track record, it’s no wonder people pay attention to what he’s saying. Last night, Yzerman was on TNT’s intermission report and had a great response to a question from Rick Tocchet.
Tocchet asked why so many teams this season gives up two-goal leads and why so many teams go on crazy streaks, both winning and losing.
”I wouldn’t say I have a scientific evidence, but I would say the league in general is in a real transition,” he said. ”You got a lot of teams playing with a lot of puck possession. If you watch Toronto, they’re one of the best teams at it. In the offensive zone, they’re very active, and teams have trouble defending it.
”It used to be pretty simple when we played. Three-on-three down low, and wingers cover the points. But now, with the Ds more active, and given more room, you having a lot of switches. Teams defend with overload in the corners, which creates confusion.”
Yzerman ended by saying the offensive coaching style has overtaken the defensive one, and it was just really interesting hearing one of the all-time greats talking about the sport we all love. But it wouldn’t be a TNT broadcast without Paul Bissonnette getting some attention.
Last year, Bissonnette wanted to hang out, partying with Yzerman. But this year, Biz has changed his lifestyle a bit. He’s now more into yoga, which didn’t excite Yzerman one bit.
”I think I would rather party with him than do yoga with him to be honest,” Yzerman said, and nobody in the studio could help but to laugh.
Steve Yzerman, what a legend!
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