Yzermania19

No, you're not...you are making it look like there is/was a huge conspiracy theory in place to force Steve to retire before he wanted to and that if said supposed conspiracy theory didn't exist, he'd still be playing. You are going on to further say there were yet more conspiracy theories that prevented him from getting certain accolades and trophies throughout his career, including the 2002 Conn Smythe trophy. I can pretty much guarantee you there are/were no conspiracies against Steve Yzerman. He retired because he knew he physically couldn't handle playing anymore. End of story. Nothing dramatic or shocking, no hidden agendas. Just a pro athlete who knew his time was up and bowed out of the game gracefully.

I cut out the rest of this post because it is such garbage (laughable garbage, at that), but I wanted to address this last sentence. Yzerman's number is in the rafters because of everything he has done throughout his entire 22-year career with the Wings. There is no one specific event or goal or playoff season that is the reason for that banner. What you are insinuating is just not true. But then just about everything you have insinuated throughout this entire thread has been untrue, so at least you are being consistent. To say to Stevie, "the main reason your number is hanging from the rafters is because of your tremendous and gutsy performance in the 2002 playoffs" is just...wow. I can't even think of the words. It goes beyond insulting. It cheapens his entire career.

Ahhhh...so the tree has been in the witness protection program under an assumed name...like Oak instead of Maple? Which is why I never went to law school...

Wow! That would be quite a feat since that tree was removed not long after the accident 10 years ago...

It does seem to be a stretch (no pun intended) to sue the dealership who sold the limo. It's common for people in the back of a limo to not wear seatbelts so even if they were easy to reach, who's to say Vlady, Slava and Sergei Mnatsakanov would have been wearing them? If they want to take that route, sue the aftermarket company that retrofitted the limo, not the dealership. But even that would be frivolous. What are they going to do next? Sue the city of Birmingham for planting that tree in the median?

Absolutely. I mean, in every professional athlete's career, there comes a time when his body can no longer handle the daily rigors of his sport and he has to retire. For some it comes earlier than others, and still others seem to be able to carry on well past an age when most of his contemporaries are long since done (Chelios, for example). As good as he was, Steve had declining skills for a few years before he retired. He knew this. He knows his own body better than anyone else and I for one am not going to second guess him when he says his body can no longer handle the day to day physicality of being an NHL player. If Stevie was forced to retire by anything, it was by his own body. The fact that he was able to come back and play for three seasons on those knees, particularly the right knee, is nothing short of incredible. His sheer will and determination to make a return to the ice after the osteotomy is to be applauded and was rewarded with the Masterton trophy. Do I miss Stevie? Hell yes I do. I'm one of the biggest Yzerman fans around...I miss him terribly. It is still strange for me to see Nick with the C and to hear the lineup announced with no #19. I wish he was still playing, but that is me being selfish. I know in my heart he made the right decision for himself. No one made it for him or forced him to make it. No one is trying to diminish anything Stevie did for the team nor are they trying to forget about him. His banner is hanging at the Joe for all to see...when you see it, it brings back all those good memories of the wonderful things he did for the franchise, none of which will ever be forgotten. Steve Yzerman was one of the greatest players of his era and while he didn't get the league-wide recognition he deserved during his career, those of us here in Detroit will never forget the wonderful years he pulled on that Winged Wheel sweater night after night and gave 150% of himself to the team. There is a reason he is the only Wing whose retired number banner has a C on it. It is because he was, is and always will be The Captain.

OMG I cannot believe we're even having this discussion... The reason Stevie retired is not because anyone "forced" him to...he retired because he physically couldn't take another season of pro hockey, playing at the level he felt he needed to play at to be successful. Period. He retired because it was time for him to do so. As for that article that said Stevie nearly retired in December of 2005, that has since come out as a fact. The only reason he didn't retire then was Robert Lang got injured and Ken Holland asked Stevie to postpone his retirement until Lang came back. Stevie started to get more ice time and feel better, so he decided to stick around for the season. Heck, he could have called it quits three years earlier when he had that radical knee surgery. We got three bonus seasons of Stevie! Anything after 01-02 was icing on the cake. Stevie just couldn't do it anymore - he was constantly in pain from his knees, his neck, his back - so he stepped aside to let the next generation take over. He recognized that his time had passed. Why can't you just accept the fact that he had enough grace and class to call it a career before he became a sad shadow of his former self?

I miss Stevie terribly out on the ice. Many times last season I'd catch myself looking for that all too familiar #19 out there, waiting to take a pass from someone. But I agree with LivingtheDream...we have to let him go. He is part of the past now, at least as far as him being a player goes. But I am glad Stevie had the foresight to retire before he became one of those athletes who continue to play long after they should have left. I am also glad that Stevie is staying on with the Wings in a management position, so not only will he continue to have influence on the team, we will get to see him from time to time. He gave us 22 seasons of incredible hockey, spectacular goals, championships, gold medals, All-Star games, Stanley Cups, and some pretty scary moments too. He gave his blood, sweat and tears for us. He gave us everything he had and he played until he felt he had nothing left to give, or at least not enough to make it through anymore. And I thank him for every glorious moment of his career.

Oh, MUCH MUCH BETTER!!!!! Why couldn't they just stop there?

It almost looks like it has tiger-type stripes on it, but that could just be shading or something from the video game.

I think it's just the busyness of the sweater, with the stripes and piping and colorblocking. Two of the three would probably work, but all three, along with the number on the front (and don't forget the captain and the alternates will have their letters on the front, too) just make it look too cluttered up. Kind of like they threw everything at a blank sweater with just the Isles logo to see what would stick, and unfortunately, everything did. I don't think the new Islanders sweater looks all that bad IF they took the number off the front. I'm not too crazy about the piping on the shoulders either, but on the whole, compared to some of the other redesigns, it's not bad. Orange and black together? No. It just screams Halloween to me. On second thought, if your team is the Black Cats or Ghouls or something like that, then it might be okay. Otherwise, orange and black should be reserved for Halloween decorations only and never worn together as clothing of any kind.

Yeah, we're going WAY old school...I'm kind of liking it. Back to the Original Six era. Can't go wrong with that.

True dat. Anything's better than the seasick Gorton's Fisherman...blech. :puke:

LOL ROFLMAO!!! Amen.

The sweater isn't bad, but the number on the front has got to go...why the eff are teams doing that? It makes the front of the sweater look far too cluttered, especially when you add a C or an A. Not to mention it doesn't go with hockey - numbers on the front of a jersey are a baseball, basketball and football thing, NOT a hockey thing!!! Those goalie pads, though, are hideous...they look like some bad, mid-1980's All-Star game pads.

I am just so freaking happy that the changes are minimal. When you think of the disaster it could have been, with vertical piping and striping, adding another color, putting numbers on the front (I have mentioned how much I hate that, right? ), it is such a relief to see the good old Winged Wheel looking much as it has for lo these many years. Even switching the C and the A to the right side is no big deal to me. *breathes huge sigh of relief*

LOL, but not necessarily...I've known a few men over the years who have had earrings (one of them had them in BOTH ears) and they are through-and-through heteros. Look at all the basketball and football players with those huge diamond earrings they wear - I dare ya to go up to one of them and tell them they're ***. And back on topic - I like what JayUp88 said!!! That is brilliant!! :!:

Ewww, I hope you're not serious!!! :puke: Unless you like skanks whose only talent is...ummmm...uhhhh...making homemade sex videos and milking the hell out of it?

It's not a photoshop - read this from the Freep article that the pictures came from... I thought I'd seen the letters on the right side before, I just couldn't remember what era that was in.

That kind of change is not a big deal...I can live with it. Besides, weren't the letters on the right like, years and years ago? As long as they don't start putting the sweater numbers on the front...have I mentioned how much I effing HATE that? LOL

QFT. I mean, the situation Stevie is in with the Wings is kind of like a college graduate going to work for the top company in his field, in a high-executive position, right after graduation. The Wings are widely considered one of, if not the best organization, in the NHL. You already work for the best - why leave a plum position to go work for something far less superior (and uncertain)? You got that right. If the day does come that Stevie leaves the Wings organization (whatever the reason would be), there is NO WAY the Wings should take down and "unretire" his number. That number was retired based on everything Steve Yzerman did for the Wings while he was a player on the ice. No one can argue the fact that he is one of the greatest hockey players of his generation. That won't change. Whatever happens after that should have no bearing on his number remaining retired or not.

Yes, I am sure he said that. I don't have a copy of the interview anymore, but he did say he would not play for a Canadian team. And why wouldn't he value Detroit over Canada? He's lived here a lot longer than he lived in Canada, his career is here, his kids were born and raised here, he's treated like a god here...his life, basically, is here. I'm not saying he has forgotten his roots, because he certainly hasn't, but he has chosen to stay in Detroit. Based on statements made in past interviews, Stevie gives the impression that he does not want to work for any other organization and I believe Ilitch and TPTB don't want him going anywhere, either. Of course that could change in, say, five years if Stevie gets itchy and there has been no change in the Wings' management, and none appearing on the horizon. But even in that possible situation I think the Wings would do what they could to keep Stevie on board. Maybe it would be enough, maybe it wouldn't, but IMO it would take a major falling-out between Stevie and the Wings to get him to want to leave.

Oh, I completely disagree with you! Yzerman's first loyalty is to the Red Wings. What would make you think otherwise? Stevie has had so many opportunities to go to other teams over his career and he chose to stay here. When there were rumors of him being traded to Ottawa back in the summer of 1995, he said he would never play for a Canadian NHL team. Sure, he has played for Team Canada in international competition, but he is Canadian. Of course he's going to play for Canada. Just like Sergei played for Russia, Dom played for the Czech Republic, Nick played for Sweden, etc. And as for Stevie GM'ing Team Canada earlier this year, he did it knowing it was a temporary thing and that he'd be back with the Wings. Supposedly he told the Wings' brass that he wouldn't do it if they thought it was going to interfere too much with his Wings duties. Plus, he had Ken Holland on speed dial for advice and assistance, should he need it - which was Holland's idea. He built his entire career around the Wings and has often said he has no intention of leaving. I have never read anything nor heard any part of an interview that would indicate Steve Yzerman has less than 100% loyalty to the Red Wings.

The design differences are because of the sweater itself, not because the Wings changed it. They don't have control over the construction of the sweater - that's on Reebok. And for the neckline, blame the NHL - they wanted the NHL crest visible at the neckline. Of course they didn't have to do that little V-shpaed insert (they could have done it below the point on the collar) but they didn't. As for the size patch on the front, as long as it isn't ironed on, you should be able to take it off. Just like the size patch on the back waistband of your Levi's. Not a big deal. Like I, and many others, have already said, it could have been so very much worse! These changes are noting, really! Very, very minor. With all due respect, I think some people are being just a bit nitpicky... :angel:

Oh I know. It's just that some of us were a little worried about what possible changes there might be. With so many of the new sweaters revealed having the vertical piping or radical redesigns, it was only natural to get a little nervous. BTW - I remember back in the mid-1980's or so, the Detroit Free Press ran a contest to redesign the Red Wings uniforms. I wish I had kept the article in which they revealed the winning designs because some of them were so far out there they looked like they came from Mars. I think it was just a newspaper thing, because the Wings never incorporated any of the ideas into their uniforms. The order form says Hockeytown Authenics will start selling them on September 14, and that is the only place you can get them for the first week or so. After that I guess anyone who normally sells sweaters can have them.