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Better Captain - Sept. 1 2016 - Special Edition Issue - Matt Larkin
The best captain in the history of the Detroit Red Wings? No contest. It’s Steve Yzerman.
The best captain in NHL history? Same guy. But don’t take my word for it. “He was the ultimate captain,” said Yzerman’s former teammate Chris Chelios, who USA Hockey people will tell you was the greatest leader they’ve ever produced.
In the 2015 book 50 Greatest Red Wings – by the author of this column – the top three in the rankings were Gordie Howe, Nicklas Lidstrom and Yzerman. But each deserved a No. 1 spot – Howe as the greatest player, Lidstrom as the greatest defenseman and Yzerman as the greatest leader. “I think Steve Yzerman is what every athlete should be,” professed former Wings captain Ted Lindsay.
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Yzerman was never about fire and brimstone. For nearly two decades as Detroit captain – an NHL record, by the way – his was a watch me, don’t listen to me approach. “Being captain, it’s a recognition of leadership, a quality that you have to hold your team together, make them perform as a unit,” Lindsay said. “Steve Yzerman would be the best illustration. Steve Yzerman didn’t kick any butt. He used to show guys how to do it.
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“Lots of mistakes are made by people who think a guy gets in the dressing room and makes a big show. That’s not true leadership. You do it by leading by example.”
You do it the way Yzerman did it for so many years. It’s what made him the best captain in Red Wings history, and arguably the best captain in NHL history. – Bob Duff
Steve Yzerman captained the Detroit Red Wings an NHL-record 19 seasons. If we define greatness by longevity, he’s the franchise’s ultimate leader.
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But Yzerman is typically labelled a man who led by example, not via motivational speaking. Players followed him because he was such a fine role model with his play. If we’re defining the best captain by what he did on the ice, then, there’s a Detroit Red Wing who did a lot more. Gordie Howe was ‘Mr. Hockey’ for a reason. Yzerman never won a scoring title or Hart as league MVP, and Howe accomplished both feats six times. He also won four Stanley Cups to Yzerman’s three. Howe set a superior example simply by being the superior player. He’s among the four best ever.
There’s also more to being a captain than dominating and inspiring teammates on the ice. A captain is a face of the franchise in the community, too. And while there’s no knocking what ‘Stevie Y’ did for Detroit, no one tops Howe’s contributions. He and his wife, Colleen, raised millions of dollars for charity. The humble Howe was quick to sign any autograph asked of him and quick to deflect attention away from himself, as his friend and fellow Hall of Famer Johnny Bower recalls. “He was as good a man off the ice as he was on it,” Bower said. “He did everything for charity. There’s not a bad word I could say about him.”
So while Howe only wore the captain’s ‘C’ four seasons, he was the best man ever to wear it – on the ice or off it. His greatness trumps Yzerman’s longevity.
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