Hockey Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman was named general manager of the Detroit Red Wings on Friday, returning to the franchise where he was part of three Stanley Cup championship teams and a beloved captain for a league-record 20 seasons.
"I'm extremely excited to be back in Detroit," Yzerman said at a news conference at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
For the Red Wings, who moved Ken Holland to senior vice president after more than two decades as GM, the return of their fierce, longtime leader whose No. 19 hangs in the rafters is a welcome sign of hope.
"I did have a feeling that someday we would be together again," said Marian Ilitch, the founder of Ilitch Holdings, which owns the Red Wings.
Detroit drafted Yzerman No. 4 overall in 1983, and he helped turn around the franchise. As the GM, he'll have a chance to do it again.
Yzerman is taking the reins of a team that has missed the playoffs three straight years in its worst stretch since the early 1980s.
"There's a lot of work to be done," Yzerman said. "We've been through this before."
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• Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk will miss three to four weeks with a lower-body injury. He blocked a slapshot with his left leg in the second period of the Islanders' decisive 3-1 win Tuesday in Game 4 of their first-round series sweep of the Penguins.
