Ex-Red Wings assistant GM Jim Nill reveals Steve Yzerman's near super-human dedication
Former Red Wings assistant GM Jim Nill recently shared details about Steve Yzerman's legendary physical dedication and competitiveness during his career.
For those fans who are old enough to remember, Detroit Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman played the entire 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs essentially on one leg.
He was dealing with painful degeneration in his right knee and had to have a realignment surgical procedure known as an osteotomy in 2002, though he played through it and led the Red Wings to their 3rd Stanley Cup since 1997.
He underwent surgery in early August of 2002 and missed the first 4 months of Detroit's Stanley Cup defense in 2002-03 before returning in February 2003.
Former Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill, who now runs the show for the Dallas Stars, joined "Spittin' Chiclets" podcast with former NHL defenseman Ryan Whitney. He explained that the Red Wings had asked Yzerman to re-consider playing in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, where he ultimately re-aggravated his knee.
I've had a great relationship with Stevie, I respect him so much. But such a determined athlete, you talk about on one leg, that was the Olympic year that year in 2002 in Salt Lake City. People don't realize that Stevie had, pretty well, his leg cut off at the knee, and they put a new knee kind of on it.
They had to change the angle on it and stuff, it had never been done before. It was a doctor from London, Ontario who did it. It was amazing what he went through to come back from it.
The Olympics were up, he'd never played in the Olympics before and he wants to go. We're sitting there saying, 'Stevie, let's take the Olympics off. Lets, you know - we got the playoffs coming up, so lets' take that time off.' He was going to the Olympics, and God bless him, he went there and I think it was Mario Lemieux and him, and they put the team on their back, those 2 veteran guys, and won the gold for Canada.
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