Steve Yzerman Quotes

#1. As a kid in British Columbia, going back a long way, I learned to skate.

Steve Yzerman

#2. People here want the team to win and to do well. The thing is, we know when to shoot the puck.

Steve Yzerman

#3. When you're on the ice, you have very little time, you see very little, and everything happens really quick.

Steve Yzerman

#4. It's almost like you see too much, because when it happens for real, everything flies at you so fast, you never get a sense of the ice and where everyone is at that one moment.

Steve Yzerman

#5. I'm never gonna play again, and I know I'm really, really going to miss it.

Steve Yzerman

#6. I don't know if I've ever had a memorable body check. It's not really part of my game.

Steve Yzerman

#7. Playoff hockey is the best way to market your team. It's the best way to grow your fan base and give hope to your players and for them to develop.

Steve Yzerman

#8. We have two tables on our airplane that are set up with the games.

Steve Yzerman

#9. We used to play a lot outdoors, not in leagues, but just in our spare time.

Steve Yzerman

#10. As long as I could remember, since I was 5 years old, I watched the Stanley Cup. I stayed up, made a point of watching it presented, watched the celebration in the locker room, and always dreamed that maybe I'd get there.

Steve Yzerman

#11. And for the team, I always tried to do the right thing.

Steve Yzerman

#12. I'm very confident my health isn't going to allow me to be a good player, especially in the spring.

Steve Yzerman

#13. It's been a great honor for me to be a player for the Detroit Red Wings, to play for an Original Six franchise. I know I'm far from perfect, but I learned a lot.

Steve Yzerman

#14. It's true that in Canada, we pride ourselves on the game, and we like to think we're the dominant hockey nation in the world.

Steve Yzerman

#15. Whether somebody is really competent - whether he has a good hockey mind, whether he's a good person to lead a hockey club - is something determined over a long period of time, not one tournament.

Steve Yzerman

#16. I also feel I adapted. I was willing to try to fit into any role. The way I figured, it was always up to me to prove my worth, that I deserved to be here.

Steve Yzerman

#17. There used to be an old thing where every team had a heavy bag in their locker room for people to punch, but again, it was more about conditioning because if you hit a heavy bag for a minute, it feels like your arms are about to fall off.

Steve Yzerman

#18. I look forward to a lot more free time, at least initially, with my wife, Lisa, and our three children.

Steve Yzerman

#19. I've been hit hard a few times, been hit really hard a few times, but I don't think I've ever left a memorable, lasting impression on anyone I've ever hit.

Steve Yzerman

#20. I knew if I wanted to be a general manager, I was going to have to leave to work for another organization.

Steve Yzerman

#21. Very few cities in the NHL have the history or the following of the Detroit Red Wings.

Steve Yzerman

#22. One of the advantages, one of the special things, about playing in Detroit or Montreal is guys like Gordie Howe walk in the room. I didn't know he was here tonight, it was kind of a coincidence to get that assist on a night that he's here.

Steve Yzerman

#23. I wore No. 19 because of Bryan Trottier. I liked the overall aspect of his game. I liked the way he conducted himself on the ice. He was a quiet guy. He played really hard; just a good all-around, prototypical center man who could do everything.

Steve Yzerman

#24. Since the season ended, I've let things settle down, and I have to talk to the coaching staff and management. I really don't want to turn this into a big drama. So I plan on making a definite decision relatively quickly.

Steve Yzerman

#25. Darren McCarty is a big video game guy, and he brings his systems with him on the road.

Steve Yzerman

#26. I don't know that I'd agree I was our best player.

Steve Yzerman

#27. I mean, the best thing for my knee, for anyone's knee, is to never play again and retire. But I'm not going to do that.

Steve Yzerman

#28. We have to get better at that. All of the Stanley Cup winning teams throughout the past few seasons, when they needed to play defense, they did it. If you can play defense, that's when you know it's game over.

Steve Yzerman

#29. I hope people like me and appreciate me the way I am.

Steve Yzerman

#30. The 70's hair with the long on the sides, just doesn't look good coming down the sides of the helmet.

Steve Yzerman

#31. We should've been better, more disciplined. We made untimely mistakes defensively, as a group. This is really humbling for us. After winning the Stanley Cup, we got brought back down to earth, hard. Maybe the humbling is good for us in the long run.

Steve Yzerman

#32. Balanced is probably what I am, although that's just a polite way to say that you don't do anything very well.

Steve Yzerman

#33. When it gets to this point, it's just hard to pull the trigger.

Steve Yzerman

#34. I'm exhausted trying to stay healthy.

Steve Yzerman

#35. I consider the Detroit Red Wings one of the greatest franchises in any sport. For a player to come in and play, it's so special to wear the jersey.

Steve Yzerman