I understand that a lot of people have their problems with the Red Wings because of that imagined “they buy the Stanley Cup” scenario that a lot of folks use to deal with their jealousy, but come on, we all know you can’t buy a cup. It takes a special group of guys to come together to win the cup and like they say “the Stanley Cup only weighs 32 pounds, but it takes an entire team to lift it.”

That’s where a guy like Steve Yzerman comes in. Like I said, a lot of people have their problems with the Wings, but any true Canadian can’t truthfully say that they don’t love this guy, or at least respect him. He’s been a force in the NHL ever since he broke into the league as a rookie in 1984, making the NHL all-rookie team, through the way he mashes, dangles and above all shows unreal leadership and inspirational qualities.

Lecavalier, Yzerman’s replacement on the World Cup squad took home the MVP honors and it was a very well deserved addition to his trophy case. But let me tell you, if I was the guy they threw in to replace the injured Steve Yzerman I would probably have won it too, and I’ve got hands like the special Olympics.

The guy just demands respect on and off the ice. He proves year in and year out that he’s got more class than a University campus in the fall and the way he plays that Canadian style of hockey should make you proud to share your nationality with him regardless of what NHL team you follow.

Anyone that wasn’t inspired watching Yzerman play with Team Canada in Salt Lake and then lead the Wings in their 2002 playoff run playing through all of that pain should really check their pulse and make sure they’re even still alive. That year when he got the cup from Bettman and passed it to Scotty Bowman before he even raised it himself was the kind of act that sets this guy apart from the pack. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that they’ve got a giant picture of him on a building in downtown Detroit.

I brought my Yzerman jersey across the entire world with me when I left a week ago as a reminder of how unreal Canada and Canadians are (as if I would ever forget haha), and so I’d like to take this opportunity to kick off a new feature of the Kerrzy Report by honoring Steve Yzerman’s ongoing contribution to the game of hockey and to the lives of a lot of kids out there who look up to him as their hero, myself included.

Hey with the lockout and stuff if he’s thinking of taking a holiday with all that spare time he’ll have, I’ve got a place two blocks from the beach with a pool that’s got some room.

Steve Yzerman is the personification of everything good about the great game of hockey, and with him signed on for another year I hope there actually is another one.