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McKenzie: Is the end near for Stevie Y?

Bob McKenzie

11/28/2005 7:17:21 PM


You really have to seriously wonder if the end is near for Steve Yzerman.

Now, near is a funny word. Near could mean the end of this season. But near could also mean the end of this week. And were that to be the case, no one should be too surprised.

The truth is these must be difficult days, on and off the ice, for Yzerman, a Detroit hockey icon if ever there were one.

On the ice, his ravaged knee has been a pain, forcing him to ask for a day off on Saturday and raising serious questions about his ability to get through this season. Off the ice, it can't be too much fun either, trying to wrestle with the emotional issue of precisely when is the right time to say he's had enough.

As private and proud a person as Yzerman is, this is clearly Stevie Y's call to make.

But between the pain of his knee and the limited minutes, likely to be less than 10 on most nights, he's been getting from the wings, the writing appears to be on the wall.



Yzerman has been supplanted on the Wings' power play by Mikael Samuelsson. Yzerman doesn't kill penalties. In the new NHL, that doesn't leave many minutes. Regardless of his stature in the game, and my goodness, the man has stature, it is what it is and it's not likely to change.

This can't be too much fun for the Red Wings either. For general manager Kenny Holland or new head coach Mike Babcock. But they're in the business of winning hockey games and if they thought they could do that playing Yzerman more than 10 minutes a night, they would be doing it.

But they're not.

A lot of people are wondering when, or if, Yzerman will call Wayne Gretzky to pull himself from the Canadian Olympic team roster. Hey, I would say, with all due respect, that's a foregone conclusion. What I wonder about is whether this is the week Stevie Y decides to call it a career.

For TSN.ca, I'm Bob McKenzie.

" hat geschrieben:

McKenzie: Is the end near for Stevie Y?

Bob McKenzie

11/28/2005 7:17:21 PM


You really have to seriously wonder if the end is near for Steve Yzerman.

Now, near is a funny word. Near could mean the end of this season. But near could also mean the end of this week. And were that to be the case, no one should be too surprised.

The truth is these must be difficult days, on and off the ice, for Yzerman, a Detroit hockey icon if ever there were one.

On the ice, his ravaged knee has been a pain, forcing him to ask for a day off on Saturday and raising serious questions about his ability to get through this season. Off the ice, it can't be too much fun either, trying to wrestle with the emotional issue of precisely when is the right time to say he's had enough.

As private and proud a person as Yzerman is, this is clearly Stevie Y's call to make.

But between the pain of his knee and the limited minutes, likely to be less than 10 on most nights, he's been getting from the wings, the writing appears to be on the wall.



Yzerman has been supplanted on the Wings' power play by Mikael Samuelsson. Yzerman doesn't kill penalties. In the new NHL, that doesn't leave many minutes. Regardless of his stature in the game, and my goodness, the man has stature, it is what it is and it's not likely to change.

This can't be too much fun for the Red Wings either. For general manager Kenny Holland or new head coach Mike Babcock. But they're in the business of winning hockey games and if they thought they could do that playing Yzerman more than 10 minutes a night, they would be doing it.

But they're not.

A lot of people are wondering when, or if, Yzerman will call Wayne Gretzky to pull himself from the Canadian Olympic team roster. Hey, I would say, with all due respect, that's a foregone conclusion. What I wonder about is whether this is the week Stevie Y decides to call it a career.

For TSN.ca, I'm Bob McKenzie.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=144912&hubname=

Vladimir Malakhov (D)
From New Jersey Devils (NHL) to Unknown
retired

" hat geschrieben:

Vladimir Malakhov (D)
From New Jersey Devils (NHL) to Unknown
retired

" hat geschrieben:Cliff Ronning beendet Karriere
(16.02.2006)

Nach 18 Jahren in der NHL hat Veteran Cliff Ronning heute das Ende seiner aktiven Laufbahn verkündet. Der 40-jährige spielte insgesamt 1137 Spiele für die St.Louis Blues, die Phoenix Coyotes, die Nashville Predators, die Los Angeles Kings, die Minnesota Wild und zuletzt für die New York Islanders, die ihn als Free Agent in 2004 verpflichtet hatten.

Für ihn stehen am Ende seiner Karriere 306 Tore, 563 Assists und damit insgesamt 869 Punkte zu Buche. "Ich werde das Spiel auf höchstem Niveau vermissen. Ich hatte das Glück, mit sehr vielen hochtalentierten Mitspielern in der NHL Hockey zu spielen", gab sich Ronning auf einer Pressekonferenz wehmütig.

Giuseppe Busillo (F)
From HCJ Milano Vipers to Unknown
Status: Confirmed
retired