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The great Stevie Y running the Sens?
The idea makes many salivate.
The Nepean native has been mentioned more than once as a potential candidate to take over the team...especially after he was publicly dissed by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment mucky muck Larry Tanenbaum as a 'rookie' back when Larry was looking for a new honcho in Hogtown.
Sens blogger Mark Christopher also stoked the rumours in his April 18 snapshot on HB:
Mentioned on CBC's "the Hotstove" by Ron Maclean -
Stating "those close to Yzerman" say he is realizing/thinking Holland and the Upper Management of the Wings aren't going anywhere soon, so Yzerman is considering joining the Sens Organization.
---------------------------------
Way back in February, when Murray's job was in serious jeopardy, Yzerman's name floated around as a candidate, and now with Roy Mlakar all but gone, could Yzerman be the next President of the Ottawa Senators?
Mike Milbury quickly shot it down, but Ron basically shrugged off Mike's opinion. Anyone who watches The Hotstove regularly knows Milbury argues for the sake of arguing, so this could be a very interesting situation to watch.
---
The Citizen's Wayne Scanlan now comes out with this glowing profile of Mr Yzerman...coincidence...or foreshadowing?
Should Steve Yzerman succeed Bryan Murray the helm?
Read...and decide.
---
Yzerman a suit willing to dig in the corners
By Wayne Scanlan/The Ottawa Citizen, May 1, 2009
ZURICH-KLOTEN, Switzerland — Beneath the dreary black curtain at the end of the arena, the two giants of the game locked eyes, shook hands, wished each other well.
Steve Yzerman and Jaromir Jagr have played a lot of National Hockey League and international games against each other, but meet at the 2009 world hockey championship with vastly different agendas.
Jagr, 37, is playing in the twilight of his career for the Czech Republic, non-committal about anything beyond this tournament and next season with Omsk of the Continental Hockey League (KHL).
As for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver?
“Ah, I’m too old,” Jagr says, coyly. (Translation: he’ll be there).
Yzerman, who turns 44 on the eve of the May 10 championship game in Bern, is past those days of wrestling with whether to continue on as a player. He looks, each time we see him, ever more comfortable in the suit instead of the hockey uniform; an NHL GM-to-be, Canada’s architect of the Olympic men’s hockey team with the title of executive director.
Just nine months away from the Olympic due date, is he liking the gig, on a personal level?
“I really enjoy it,” Yzerman says, “for the simple reason that I like watching hockey. I like the game. Even just being a member of the Red Wings, I’m out watching a lot of hockey. Kenny (Holland) and Jimmy Nill always tell me, at the end of the day it’s about player assessment. You’ve got to get out and watch games, whether you’re watching junior or college, high school, European hockey, anything. It’s about player evaluation. So, from that perspective I’m learning a lot about the other countries and the Canadian players — I’m learning a great deal about them.”
With Detroit, Yzerman is the resident icon, but with a loosely defined role that meshes with his Hockey Canada duties. As vice-president of the Red Wings, working alongside GM Holland and assistant GM Nill, Yzerman is learning about scouting talent from some of the best in the business.
Doug Armstrong, GM of the worlds team in Switzerland and player personnel director for Vancouver, is another astute hockey man with whom Yzerman has regular contact, a part of the Olympic management team along with Holland and Edmonton Oilers’ Kevin Lowe.
Canada’s hockey aspirations, however the 2010 tournament plays out, could not be in better hands, partly because Yzerman is not your average retired superstar.
He has shown, from his early days on the job, a willingness to learn from the ground up, instead of stepping into a general manager’s role green, like a Brett Hull in Dallas. The work ethic Yzerman demonstrated in his Hall of Fame playing career serves him well in management, where his attention to detail is telling. Here’s a suit willing to dig in the corners.
One of the reasons Yzerman is in Switzerland is so he can get a good look at teams like Norway and the Swiss, teams comprised almost entirely of European, non-NHL players.
Say again? You’re scouting Norway?
“Our first three (Olympic) games are against Norway, Switzerland and USA,” Yzerman says. “Well, both Norway and Switzerland are going to be made up of players playing over here, so it’s important that we can sit down before those games and talk abut their players, the way they play . . . in preparation.”
Mostly, Yzerman says, he wants to watch the Canadians.
He arrived in Zurich on Thursday, in time to see Canada win its fourth game of the tournament, 5-1 over Jagr’s Czechs. From Detroit, he watched two of Canada’s other wins via the Internet (vs. Belarus and Slovakia), only missing the 9-0 mismatch with Hungary.
His general observations: “You know, I think the team speed is very good, I think the size and skill level are a good combination. We’ve found over here, the guys who can skate well, big strong guys, are very effective. So far, I think we look real good.”
Fans in Canada assumed that when the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames lost out in the first round, players like Jarome Iginla, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle would jump on a plane for Zurich.
That many of Canada’s prospective 2010 Olympians are not here (just as the top Swedes, Russians, Finns, Czechs and Slovaks are not here), has a plus and a minus to it.
On the minus side, Yzerman would love to see more of Canada’s best here working together, in an international environment, under IIHF rules, a kind of dress rehearsal for Vancouver. The plus is that so many younger players, like Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty, are playing big roles at the worlds, gaining precious experience.
“Either way would be good,” Yzerman says.
Having just retired three years ago, the playoff battles are too fresh in mind for him to doubt any Canadian with health or family issues keeping him from the worlds.
Whether here or in North America, every potential Olympian will get a close look this spring and again in the fall. Yzerman isn’t so different from the media experts who add and subtract players based on the state of their game. “You see players’ play go up and down through the course of the year, and again, the more times you watch them the better understanding you have,” Yzerman says.
“The team I have in my mind a little bit, without actually writing it down on paper, has fluctuated all year and will continue that until really next December when we announce it.”
Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
The idea makes many salivate.
The Nepean native has been mentioned more than once as a potential candidate to take over the team...especially after he was publicly dissed by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment mucky muck Larry Tanenbaum as a 'rookie' back when Larry was looking for a new honcho in Hogtown.
Sens blogger Mark Christopher also stoked the rumours in his April 18 snapshot on HB:
Mentioned on CBC's "the Hotstove" by Ron Maclean -
Stating "those close to Yzerman" say he is realizing/thinking Holland and the Upper Management of the Wings aren't going anywhere soon, so Yzerman is considering joining the Sens Organization.
---------------------------------
Way back in February, when Murray's job was in serious jeopardy, Yzerman's name floated around as a candidate, and now with Roy Mlakar all but gone, could Yzerman be the next President of the Ottawa Senators?
Mike Milbury quickly shot it down, but Ron basically shrugged off Mike's opinion. Anyone who watches The Hotstove regularly knows Milbury argues for the sake of arguing, so this could be a very interesting situation to watch.
---
The Citizen's Wayne Scanlan now comes out with this glowing profile of Mr Yzerman...coincidence...or foreshadowing?
Should Steve Yzerman succeed Bryan Murray the helm?
Read...and decide.
---
Yzerman a suit willing to dig in the corners
By Wayne Scanlan/The Ottawa Citizen, May 1, 2009
ZURICH-KLOTEN, Switzerland — Beneath the dreary black curtain at the end of the arena, the two giants of the game locked eyes, shook hands, wished each other well.
Steve Yzerman and Jaromir Jagr have played a lot of National Hockey League and international games against each other, but meet at the 2009 world hockey championship with vastly different agendas.
Jagr, 37, is playing in the twilight of his career for the Czech Republic, non-committal about anything beyond this tournament and next season with Omsk of the Continental Hockey League (KHL).
As for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver?
“Ah, I’m too old,” Jagr says, coyly. (Translation: he’ll be there).
Yzerman, who turns 44 on the eve of the May 10 championship game in Bern, is past those days of wrestling with whether to continue on as a player. He looks, each time we see him, ever more comfortable in the suit instead of the hockey uniform; an NHL GM-to-be, Canada’s architect of the Olympic men’s hockey team with the title of executive director.
Just nine months away from the Olympic due date, is he liking the gig, on a personal level?
“I really enjoy it,” Yzerman says, “for the simple reason that I like watching hockey. I like the game. Even just being a member of the Red Wings, I’m out watching a lot of hockey. Kenny (Holland) and Jimmy Nill always tell me, at the end of the day it’s about player assessment. You’ve got to get out and watch games, whether you’re watching junior or college, high school, European hockey, anything. It’s about player evaluation. So, from that perspective I’m learning a lot about the other countries and the Canadian players — I’m learning a great deal about them.”
With Detroit, Yzerman is the resident icon, but with a loosely defined role that meshes with his Hockey Canada duties. As vice-president of the Red Wings, working alongside GM Holland and assistant GM Nill, Yzerman is learning about scouting talent from some of the best in the business.
Doug Armstrong, GM of the worlds team in Switzerland and player personnel director for Vancouver, is another astute hockey man with whom Yzerman has regular contact, a part of the Olympic management team along with Holland and Edmonton Oilers’ Kevin Lowe.
Canada’s hockey aspirations, however the 2010 tournament plays out, could not be in better hands, partly because Yzerman is not your average retired superstar.
He has shown, from his early days on the job, a willingness to learn from the ground up, instead of stepping into a general manager’s role green, like a Brett Hull in Dallas. The work ethic Yzerman demonstrated in his Hall of Fame playing career serves him well in management, where his attention to detail is telling. Here’s a suit willing to dig in the corners.
One of the reasons Yzerman is in Switzerland is so he can get a good look at teams like Norway and the Swiss, teams comprised almost entirely of European, non-NHL players.
Say again? You’re scouting Norway?
“Our first three (Olympic) games are against Norway, Switzerland and USA,” Yzerman says. “Well, both Norway and Switzerland are going to be made up of players playing over here, so it’s important that we can sit down before those games and talk abut their players, the way they play . . . in preparation.”
Mostly, Yzerman says, he wants to watch the Canadians.
He arrived in Zurich on Thursday, in time to see Canada win its fourth game of the tournament, 5-1 over Jagr’s Czechs. From Detroit, he watched two of Canada’s other wins via the Internet (vs. Belarus and Slovakia), only missing the 9-0 mismatch with Hungary.
His general observations: “You know, I think the team speed is very good, I think the size and skill level are a good combination. We’ve found over here, the guys who can skate well, big strong guys, are very effective. So far, I think we look real good.”
Fans in Canada assumed that when the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames lost out in the first round, players like Jarome Iginla, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle would jump on a plane for Zurich.
That many of Canada’s prospective 2010 Olympians are not here (just as the top Swedes, Russians, Finns, Czechs and Slovaks are not here), has a plus and a minus to it.
On the minus side, Yzerman would love to see more of Canada’s best here working together, in an international environment, under IIHF rules, a kind of dress rehearsal for Vancouver. The plus is that so many younger players, like Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty, are playing big roles at the worlds, gaining precious experience.
“Either way would be good,” Yzerman says.
Having just retired three years ago, the playoff battles are too fresh in mind for him to doubt any Canadian with health or family issues keeping him from the worlds.
Whether here or in North America, every potential Olympian will get a close look this spring and again in the fall. Yzerman isn’t so different from the media experts who add and subtract players based on the state of their game. “You see players’ play go up and down through the course of the year, and again, the more times you watch them the better understanding you have,” Yzerman says.
“The team I have in my mind a little bit, without actually writing it down on paper, has fluctuated all year and will continue that until really next December when we announce it.”
Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
