Yzer-Memories

So maybe Yzermemories doesn't flow so well off the tongue like when you add "Zetter" to the front of anything (Zetterfries, Zettercaptain, Zetterbeard, you get the point), but we all have them. We all have those memories of Stevie Y.

My time for grieving is over. It was short-lived. Yzerman was bound to move on sooner or later, and this is just a step that will bring him closer to coming back (or so we all pray). Now I wish him the best. I wish him success. He'll do Tampa Bay some good. And besides, I said from the start if it came down to Holland or Yzerman, I'd stick with Holland. But this post isn't about that. This is to share my memories of Steve Yzerman.

My first Red Wings game was October 24, 2003 against the Dallas Stars. It was 0-0 after the first and I (stupidly) believed that I wouldn't see a single goal in my first hockey game. But we won 4-0. Dominik Hasek had the shutout. Stevie had two goals, the first assisted by a sweet drop pass by Zetterberg. It was a great first game.

April 7, 2006. A game at The Joe versus Columbus. The game should have never gone to a shootout - we had been up 4-1 going into the third. Damn Rick Nash and his spinning abilities to get his first career hat trick to tie the game! The loudest thing I have ever heard in my entire life (this includes loud rock concerts) was when Steve Yzerman stood at center ice to take the second shot of the shootout.

I wish I had had a video camera to show you how loud it was. It was heartwarming, breathtaking, you name it. Yet over the cheering for our Captain, we could hear the puck ring off the post. (Homer ended up winning for us. I know, right?)

July 3, 2006. The day we will always remember what we were doing when the press conference was on. I was babysitting. I made sure the girl was down for her nap by the time the conference started. I sat on the couch and watched it, crying.

This is all part of Steve Yzerman's legacy. The good, the bad, and the ugly, it's all there. His departure may feel like the bad right now, but maybe it'll be for the good in the long run. We'll have to wait and see.