Posted on 02/16/2005 8:13:54 PM PST by Dan from Michigan
End of NHL season may signal the end for aging stars
2/16/2005, 5:31 p.m. ET
By LARRY LAGE
The Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) — The last time Detroit Red Wings star Steve Yzerman played in an NHL game, during the 2004 playoffs, he had to be helped off the ice when a puck broke bones near his left eye.
Yzerman vowed to return, with a visor, but didn't get the chance.
With the league canceling the season over its labor woes Wednesday, Yzerman — along with a handful of NHL legends — may have been pushed into retirement.
Yzerman, who ranks sixth with 1,721 career points and is the longest-serving captain in league history, said he would consider retiring if the work stoppage was longer than one year. He turns 40 in May.
"Everything is up in the air, and nobody is giving me a deadline to make a decision, which is good because I haven't decided one way or the other even if we resume playing in the fall," Yzerman told The Associated Press.
Mario Lemieux (39), Mark Messier (44), Brett Hull (40), Ron Francis (42 in March), Dave Andreychuk (41) and Chris Chelios (43) also could have played for the last time in the NHL.
"I think they would probably not want to end their careers without trying next year," said Scotty Bowman, the winningest coach in league history.
Then, Bowman added: "Maybe some of the guys have had enough."
Lemieux has said repeatedly he plans to play a couple more years after the labor impasse is resolved, but he has struggled to stay healthy because of various injuries and ailments. He played just 10 games last season, missed most of the previous one and has played only one full season since 1996-97.
"I feel I can play a few more years," Lemieux insisted. "I feel I can still play at a high level."
Former NHL player Mickey Redmond said even though some of the aging stars may want to play more, their bodies might not be up to the challenge.
"The difficult part for a lot of them, at their ages, will be trying to stay in condition to compete," Redmond said.
Glen Sather, the New York Rangers' president and general manager, said the prolonged lockout makes Messier's return less certain. Sather said he had talked recently to New York's captain, who in 1994 led the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup since 1940.
"He called me to get tickets to see Saturday Night Live," Sather said. "He didn't even talk about hockey, so I don't know whether he's interested in coming back or not."
Red Wings star Nicklas Lidstrom said it's a shame the lockout could lead to an early exit for some of hockey's all-time greats.
"There are a lot of future Hall of Famers that are being hurt right now because potentially it could be the end of their careers," Lidstrom said.
"I'm sure the fans want to see the future Hall of Famers go out in a different way, too."
One career that should end is Bettman's.
Another would be Goodenow's.
Hanging's too good for them.
Concur. None of this had to happen.
If nothing else, I hope the NHL (or its successor) seriously considers cutting at least 10-12 games off the regular-season schedule. These seasons are too long as it is, and it's got to wear these players down prematurely.
It's a pathetic game anyway, we ought to give it back to Canada and say "keep it!"
Everyone got what they deserved in this fiasco.
Hockey = What one does when sick and all you're all stuffed up..
My best friend works in the season ticket office for the Kings. Told me he's lost at least 20% of his income this year. He and one other guy are the only ones who have stuck it out. Now he's stuck selling track meet and tennis packs.
No one is talking about the support employees getting screwed over this. Just the fans.
I blame Bettman more than any of them.
I never want to be in the position to defend these millionaire players, but didn't the players fold on most issues and aren't the team owners the ones who closed the door?
Cut the size of the league in half, 60 game season, make tickets affordable. Hockey is a great sport that is being run into the ground by way of mismanagement.
One article said that Bettman issued his final offer by way of an AP release...
What I find utterly baffling is that the city of Newark, New Jersey is charging full-steam ahead with a plan to build a new arena for the Devils -- with no other major tenant -- despite having no assurances whatsoever that the freakin' team will even be in business in a couple of years.
I like those ideas. And I would implement some kind of system that would allot a big chunk of revenue to be divided among the players on the conference champions.
Hockey needs another Wayne Gretzky to capture people's imaginations. Barring that, I see the NHL drifting back to the status it enjoyed in the 1970s, when it basically enjoyed about the same status as Roller Derby.
I still say they should have just let the fans REPLACE the players.
Bettmann should have threatened to cancel the season in October. The cowardly players union would have folded back then.
What you are seeing is a classic exercise in free-market capitalism, and why union membership continues to decline.
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