Calling Mr. Yzerman

Gee, what a surprise that Steve Yzerman, one of the most cerebral athletes to skate in the NHL in the last 50 years, already knows a thing or two about how to build a championship team.

Steve Yzerman struggles to maintain his composure at a news conference announcing his retirement from hockey in Detroit in April, 2006.

The best thing any team looking to become more competitive in the NHL could do would be to immediately try to lure Yzerman to town, but that's probably not happening.

It's not clear what his plan is, but I doubt he'll be leaving Detroit, even if it means Mike Ilitch has to give him a slice of the franchise.

But Hockey Canada, now that's a different story.

In Wayne Gretzky, Ken Holland, Steve Tambellini and others, the national body has more than a few experienced choices when it comes to naming a general manager for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Yzerman, architect of the squad that won gold at the world championships in Moscow over the weekend, can now be added to that list. (Interestingly, Yzerman downplayed his own role and credited the input of others, and the first name he mentioned was Leaf GM John Ferguson). It was interesting to see Yzerman's team filled with young players, including a college star in Jonathan Toews. It was a team that stood in stark comparison to the 2006 Canadian team that finished seventh in Turin, a team that always seemed more about past reputations than current quality.

What makes Yzerman even more appealing, however, is that he's currently, well, underemployed.

He has a senior title with the Red Wings, but mostly is learning the ropes, trying out various duties and finding out what may or may not interest him. Doug Gilmour spent last season doing something similar with the Leafs.

Is Yzerman likely to be a GM in the league next season? No.

And when you start looking at the timetable for Vancouver, he might be the person best positioned to take on what may well be the most high-profile position for any Canadian hockey executive in history.

This is going to be, you have to realize, a full-time job.

Gretzky, you may recall, was named executive director of Team Canada 16 months before the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. At the time, he was a perfect choice because while he was a part-owner of the Phoenix Coyotes, he wasn't involved in day-to-day management of the team and thus was available to take on all the scouting and organization required.

Yzerman may well turn out to be in exactly the same situation. Moreover, he would also be a strong candidate to organize Team Canada for next spring's world championships in Halifax and Quebec City, which would be excellent preparation for dealing with all the distractions and issues of developing a strong national team on Canadian soil.

As usual, Vancouver 2010 will be a team approach to management, and Gretzky should again be involved, if he's interested.

But Yzerman at the top already makes a lot of sense.

Comments

[Sanj]

If the last Olympics showed us anything, it showed us that maybe someone other than Gretzky should be running the next Olympic entry. Too many FOG's (Friends of Gretzky) were part of the last Olympics. Also selecting Bertuzzi for the team showed Gretzky is out of touch of what the Olympics are about.

At least Yzerman represents a fresh new approach to our Olympic program.

[guido]

as the media around here loves to hammer Ferguson, I'd like to know how he helped Yzerman?

[Steve Barnett]

Stevie Y is the man for the job. The guy has the smarts to put together not only a quality team, but a cohesive unit. By that I mean I doubt Gretz would of given Johnathan Toews the shot that he got this year. We have to realize that playing on your reputation is no longer the way to go. Rick Nash will be in his prime by the time the Olympics roll around and may even be captain material by then. I think Wayne would be wise to defer to Yzerman, but still be involved. Yzerman built and Gretzky coached would be about right. Both will be able to withstand the intense media glare that is sure to surround them in Vancouver. And both would not be swayed by the so called experts who like to pick the team on, or in the paper. Toews, Nash, possibly all of the Staal boys, Phaneuf,Barker, Weber. This is gonna be one sweet team folks. Fast, tough and skilled. Plus these guys will not have thier ego's enter the room before them. I would love to be a fly on the wall when they pick this squad.