Stephen Gregory Yzerman born May 9, 1965, in Cranbrook, British Columbia) is a retired Canadian-American professional hockey player who played his entire National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Detroit Red Wings. Yzerman led the Wings to three Stanley Cup championships (1997, 1998 and 2002; Yzerman also won a 4th Stanley Cup as the Red Wings Vice President of Operations in 2007?08). Prior to the 1986?87 season at the age of 21, Yzerman was named captain of the Red Wings and continuously served as captain until his retirement two decades later.

Yzerman retired as the longest-serving captain of any team in North American major league sports history. Once voted to be the most popular athlete in Detroit sports history, locals often simply refer to Yzerman as "The Captain."[citation needed] Yzerman won numerous awards during his career, including the Lester B. Pearson Award in 1989, the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 1998, the Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward in 2000, and the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance in 2003.

He was a ten-time NHL All-Star, a First Team All-Star in 2000, and a member of the All-Rookie Team in 1984. On July 3, 2006, Yzerman officially retired, finishing his career ranked as the sixth all-time leading scorer in NHL history and on September 25, 2006 was named as a team vice president. His jersey #19, was officially retired on January 2, 2007 during a pre-game ceremony at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

He currently serves as Vice President/Alternate Governor of the Red Wings, having been immediately added to the front office upon his retirement.

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