Today In NHL History - Steve Yzerman

On May 9th in 1965, Stephen Gregory Yzerman was born in Cranbrook, British Columbia. Drafted 4th overall by the Red Wings in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, the pint-sized sparkplug reignited hockey in the Motor City.

In addition to his five 50+ goal seasons ('88-'91, '93) and six 100+ point seasons ('88-'93), including 155 points in 1989 (65 goals, 90 assists) a milestone surpassed only by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, Yzerman thrice returned the Stanley Cup (1997, 1998, 2002) to Detroit.

Rounding out his resume Yzerman added a Pearson (1989), Conn Smythe (1998), Selke (2000), Masterton (2003), and Patrick (2006), as well as the distinction of being the longest serving captain in North American major league sports history leading the winged-wheels for 19 seasons over 20 years.

On July 3, 2006, when his body could take him no further, Yzerman retired. He left with 1,755 points, 692 goals, and 1,063 assists, finishing 6th, 9th, and 7th overall, respectively. On January 2, 2007, the Wings raised his number 19 to the rafters adding a 'C' in the upper right corner memorializing his captaincy.

Since then Yzerman has been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (2009) and won a second Olympic gold medal (2010) serving as GM for Team Canada. Today he manages the Tampa Bay Lightning.

That's today in NHL history.