Steve Yzerman got the ultimate honor and had is jersey hung in the rafters tonite.
Where does he rank all time? I say Top 5 but he is my favorite athlete of all time. But he should be top 10, what is your thoughts?

 

He has always been a class act and his humility was more apparent than anything last night at that ceremony. He thanked absolutely everyone and took no credit for his acheivements

He's definitely a top 10 all time NHLer, top 5 will be a little harder to argue

 

Its hard to rank players like that, it depends on how much you weight you put on skill, leadership, effort, sportsmanship, etc. Hes been my favorite player since I was about 7 or 8 though, definitely a hell of a guy.

 

Being a Chicago (All Chicago Sports Teams) fan, he is my "Brett Favre" of the NHL, which means I respect the hell out of him, but can't stand him!

One of my favorite song lyrics . . .

"I'm in it to win it like Yzerman, I can drink about 15 Heineken's"

 

Very nice comparison there, Jason!

 

Jason,

Being a Leaf fan, I know the pain of watching Yzerman pick apart your team (especially the 80's leafs)

We did upset them in '93 though

 

As a lifelong Michigan resident and Red Wings Fan, He deserves every accolade he receives. A great hockey player, a great team player, a great captain. Not even Gretzky or Lemieux did what Yzerman did to win a Stanley Cup. When Bowman came in, he asked Yzerman to change from a high scorer to a well rounded defensive player. He blocked shots, killed penaties, played the power play. Truly one of the all time greats. I was sorry to see him retire. If it was up to me, I put him in uniform and put him in the middle of the bench, even if he couldn't play.

 

Great post, my thought too. He changed his game in the middle of his career to play defense and still finished 6th in scoring all time. But more than anything he is a great person off the ice. A role model for kids and adults. Hell I still imulate him.

@ everyone else. I know what you mean about respect and not being able to stand the player! Joe Sakic, Brett Farve, Derek Jeter many others but all very respectable!!! Thanks for the imput!

 

Im with you on that one...