The Detroit Red Wings have a rich history of winning Stanley Cup titles throughout their franchise history. They haven’t won it all since 2008 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Still, Detroit was celebrating its 25th Stanley Cup title Anniversary from the 1997 season on Thursday night when they faced the Washington Capitals at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
Former Captain Steve Yzerman was in attendance, and he is currently the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings. Yzerman is one of the best players in Detroit's history. We wonder what the NHL odds would have been back in the day during the years they won those Stanley Cup titles. What does Yzerman attending this ceremony mean for this franchise?
The Captain
Steve Yzerman was one of the best captains in the NHL and also for the Detroit Red Wings for a very long time. He has had a very rich NHL career as a superstar and has led the way for this franchise for a very long time. Yzerman didn’t have it easy at first as the leader the captain after getting swept during the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals against the New Jersey Devils.
The 1997 championship team was a significant deal because they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, and it was Detroit’s first Stanley Cup title in 42 seasons. The Red Wings are an original six hockey team. The following year, in 1998, the Red Wings won back-to-back Stanley Cups against the Washington Capitals. It was interesting that they celebrated the 1997 team, and maybe they could have waited to face the Philadelphia Flyers, but it is always great to speak about the past with achievements.
Celebrating 1998
It made sense to celebrate the 1998 title as well. A lot of the players on the 1997 team were also on the 1998 team. In 1998 as mentioned, they beat the Washington Capitals, and that made sense then to do it on this night. Along with Steve Yzerman as the captain, some of the other players that attended the ceremony were Kris Draper, Niklas Lidstrom, Darren McCarty, and others.
Scotty Bowman was the head coach during those Stanley Cup title years, and they had to go through their arch-rivals, the Colorado Avalanche, to get to those points. The Detroit Red Wings also had a great story in 1998. Each championship season has something unique to it. Vladimir Konstantinov suffered a car crash in the summer of 1997, and he wasn’t able to play ever again. When Detroit won it all in 1998, he was the first one to touch the Stanley Cup other than the team captain. Konstantinov was in a wheelchair as well.
Steve Yzerman Hopes To Restore the Glory Days Back
With Yzerman being one of the speakers at the ceremony, he is also currently the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings. He hopes to bring back the glory days of the Detroit Red Wings with him trying to build a successful hockey team. It feels like years that Detriot has been rebuilding, and they haven’t appeared in the postseason since 2015-2016. It feels like an eternity since they have just made the playoffs. The Detroit Red Wings have talent in place to get back there either this year or next year.
He built the Tampa Bay Lightning team that won back-to-back Stanley Cup titles, and that is the goal for him with the Detroit Red Wings. We will see how it goes for him as he continues to ascend young talent by building through the NHL draft.
Hall Of Fame Career
Steve Yzerman is in the hockey hall of fame, and his number is also retired by the Detroit Red Wings. Their memories were made at the old Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Yzerman is one of the best centermen in NHL history. In 1,514 career games played, Steve Yzerman scored 692 goals and recorded 1,063 assists. In 196 career postseason games played, he scored 70 goals and recorded 115 assists.
