NHL Hockey Trivia: Steve Yzerman

For three decades, Steve Yzerman was the face of the National Hockey League’s Detroit Red Wings. Yzerman retired after the 2005-06 season and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009. Steve’s number 19 was retired by the Red Wings in 2007 and is one of just seven numbers retired by the team. Stevie-Y is now the General Manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Test and expand your knowledge of Steve Yzerman hockey trivia with the following questions.

Q. In his best offensive year, 1988-89, how many regular season points did Steve Yzerman have?

A. Yzerman contributed 155 points for a Detroit Red Wings team that finished the regular season at exactly .500 and lost out in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks. Yzerman put up career high numbers for goals (65) and assists (90). Steve finished third in league scoring behind Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

To this day, the numbers Yzerman put up for goals, assists and points in 1988-89 remain team single season records. The 155 points is still the 14^th highest total in National Hockey League history and the most by a player whose name is not Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux.

Q. How many teams did Steve Yzerman play for during his NHL career?

A. Despite several trade rumours throughout his career, Yzerman played for just the Detroit Red Wings. In 1994, it was thought he was bound for the Montreal Canadiens and the following year the rumour had him going to the Ottawa Senators.

Q. How many seasons did Steve Yzerman play in the NHL?

A. Yzerman played 22 seasons in the NHL. He began his career with Detroit in 1983-84 after two years with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League. Steve was a fourth overall pick of the Red Wings in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, behind Brian Lawton (Minnesota North Stars), Sylvain Turgeon (Hartford Whalers) and Pat Lafontaine (New York Islanders). After missing the 2004-05 season, along with the rest of the league due to the lockout, Yzerman returned for one more season in 2005-06.

Q. How many times during his NHL career did Steve Yzerman surpass the 50 goal plateau?

A. Five times in his 22 NHL seasons, Steve Yzerman had 50 or more goals in a season. In 1988-89 and 1989-90, Yzerman took it a step further and surpassed the 60 goal plateau. Overall, Steve scored 692 regular season goals over his NHL career, putting him in the ninth position all-time. Yzerman scored two less goals that Mark Messier and two more than Mario Lemieux. Teemu Selanne finished the 2013-14 season with 684.