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Yzerman is no miracle worker, but he is willing to work |
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The messiah has returned and now all is right in the world of the Detroit Red Wings.
No, really. It’s that simple. All it took was for Steve Yzerman to walk into Little Caesars Arena, be announced as the new GM of the team, and all of Detroit’s myriad problems are solved.
It you don’t believe, just ask a Red Wings fan and they will tell you this is so.
The Michigan sports scene hasn’t been this head over heels about the return of a prodigal son since Michigan brought Jim Harbaugh back to coach the Wolverines football team. Before that, it was when the Detroit Tigers named icon Alan Trammell manager. And then there was Joe Dumars being placed in charge of the Detroit Pistons.
Or, if you just want to keep the history lesson to the Red Wings organization, there was Ted Lindsay’s tenure as GM. Or Alex Delvecchio’s tenure as GM. Or Sid Abel’s tenure as GM.
Those three Red Wings legends combined to win zero championships in charge of the franchise’s fortunes - you know, the same number titles that Yzerman won in eight years as GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
If you’re keeping score at home, the tally of Stanley Cups won as GM between Ken Holland, the man Yzerman replaces, and Yzerman is Holland 3 Yzerman 0.
Curious, isn’t it, how much those Lightning teams he ruled over resembled the Red Wings teams of Yzerman’s first 11 NHL seasons. Dominant during the regular season. Not so much in the playoffs.
This Red Wings team is still a long way from where it needs to be in order to be considered a contender, but don’t take my word for it. Listen to what an NHL GM had to say about it.
“I caution everyone to temper the excitement. This is going to take time.”
That GM? Yzerman.
There’s much work to be done and the history in Detroit and elsewhere in the sporting world, is that legendary players don’t make legendary executives. So why should we expect it to be any different with Yzerman?
Here’s why - because he paid his dues. He did it the right way.
Unlike many former stars who ascend to the front office, Yzerman didn’t ask to be handed the mantle. He sought to start at the bottom and learn every nuance, discover each little detail that makes a team win.
He hung out with scouts and sat in dingy arenas studying prospects and draft-eligible players. He made long drives to minor-league rinks, getting home in the wee hours of the morning. He worked the corners. He listened to the experts. He came in with questions and never stopped asking.
Most of all, he was mentored for four years in Detroit under a group of proven winners - Holland, Jim Nill, Jim Devellano, Scotty Bowman and Mike Babcock.
You marvel at the talents of a superstar but what ultimately differentiates them from the other players is a willingness to keep striving to improve. Yzerman has proven to be one of the few elite performers who’s found a way to successfully transition that mindset into the front office.
It’s what’s made enabled him to achieve so much as a GM and probably among his most underappreciated character traits.
“I would say obviously work ethic, conviction,” former teammate Kris Draper said. “You sit up there and you listen to the way he talks, you want to get right at it again. That’s what he does.
“I think, and I said this playing with him and when he retired, whether he knows it or not, he makes people around him better.
“He has expectations for himself and with that it’s gonna trickle down to everybody within the organization.”
Stevie Y isn’t a messiah, but he is someone who is willing to roll up his sleeve and put it whatever time is necessary in order to get the job done.
Yzerman’s success in building a powerhouse team in Tampa Bay bodes well for Detroit’s future. At the same time, his inability to capture hockey’s biggest prize with the Lightning only goes to show how challenging it will be to complete the journey.
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Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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