AFTER THE APPLAUSE and the thank yous, after recounting his history in Detroit and what the city meant to him, after he had shown appreciation for outgoing GM Ken Holland and expressed his gratefulness for the Ilitchfamily, Steve Yzerman’s first act as Red Wings GM was to urge the fan base to temper its expectations.
This was April 19, 2019, and Yzerman understood the excitement. It was the return of the prodigal son, even if those are, in no uncertain terms, not the words he would have used. But here was Yzerman – a franchise legend whose decorated playing days included three Stanley Cups and a mantle’s worth of individual hardware – back in the Motor City. He had strayed from his adopted home not long after his post-career foray into…
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The Hockey News (Digital) - 1 Issue, Future Watch 2024