Detroit Red Wings: Brendan Shanahan steps up for Steve Yzerman

Former NHL official Paul Stewart calls Detroit Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman his least favorite player to deal with throughout his tenor as a referee.

It’s not the first time we’ve ever heard that the former Detroit Red Wings captain, Steve Yzerman could be fiery. In this town, we love to pile on Sidney Crosby mostly because of the rivalry back in ’08 and again in ’09. Crosby, especially in his younger days, appeared to be a constant whiner. Always begging for calls, lobbying for his teammates, always in the official’s ear hoping to get the ‘next’ call. Listen, there is nothing wrong with having a rivalry.

Despite not talking about the leadership qualities to their fullest, didn’t I just describe a team captain? I hate to break it to you, but the Detroit Red Wings former captain acted the same way folks–and we love him for it.

I’m not sure if you can always judge a mans’ character in the heat of the moment. The NHL is exceptionally competitive; as the game shifts momentum, so does the intensity of the game.

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I’m sure Yzerman, like most players, has been pushed to the brink on more than one occurrence throughout his career. He’s likely said something throughout his 22-year playing career he’d like to take back. Brendan Shanahan claims he remembers Yzerman wasn’t on speaking terms with multiple officials but says he’d never call him disrespectful.

In an article published by the Detroit News former NHL official Paul Stewart shares his recollection of his least favorite player;

"“I made it my business to step up and defend the linesmen whom he treated the most poorly, in my opinion,” Stewart wrote in the book. “In Minnesota, he berated a linesman to the point where I felt awful for this guy.“It finally reached the point where I asked to meet with Detroit head coach Scotty Bowman. Bowman told me Yzerman had been difficult to get under control. I asked Scotty to strike a compromise.“Bowman had other players like Doug Brown, Viacheslav Fetisov, Igor Larionov and Chris Chelios, who didn’t berate officials and could discuss penalties and calls with me without going over the top in a disrespectful manner.”"

Shanahan, now the President of the Toronto Maple Leafs comes to the aid of his friend and former teammate;

"“He’s (Stewart) trying to sell a book, right?” said Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan, a former Red Wing and the only player in NHL history with 600 goals and 2,000 penalty minutes.“Steve had that fire in the belly, that relentless, unyielding will to win, but you would be mistaken and it would be inaccurate to say he was disrespectful. He wasn’t that kind of guy. He held everyone accountable on the ice, even the officials.”Shanahan remembers Yzerman’s reaction when an official offered to buy them a round of drinks at a restaurant the day after ejecting Yzerman in the third period of a game in Nashville in 2003.“Steve told the guy to (expletive) off … and he (Yzerman) walked out of the restaurant,” Shanahan said."

First of all, is Stewart talking about the same Chris Chelios? I mean, seriously. I love Chelios, but he doesn’t come across as the calming presence similarly to say–Nicklas Lidstrom or Sergei Fedorov. I find it comical that Stewart fails to mention the three players who regularly wore a letter during that era with the Detroit Red Wings.

I feel like Shanahan hit the nail on the head by saying, “he’s trying to sell a book, right?” When you are trying to garner attention, sometimes you say things strictly for attention. Steve Yzerman isn’t only my favorite Red Wings player of all-time. He’s my favorite athlete of all-time. I don’t think he was ‘perfect’ but to say that one of the greatest players in NHL history was disrespectful is absurd.

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To address the final line in the Shanahan quote. It seems the official offering to buy Yzerman a drink was simply trying to bait him into a confrontation. I mean, you eject the guy the night before and then offer to buy him a drink? You don’t think that’s sincere, do you? I’m sure it was in a very sarcastic way.

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