HOCKEY

Paul Sancya / AP Steve Yzerman

STEVE YZERMAN
There may be one casualty of the NHL’s lost season of 2004-05 that goes beyond salary caps and cost certainty. How about the last chance for hockey fans to see one of the least heralded superstars in the sport’s history, Detroit Red Wings center Steve Yzerman? The British Columbia native turned 40 in May, just about the time he probably would have been leading the Wings on another Stanley Cup run. Yzerman, a top-flight center in Hockey Town USA for 20 seasons — including three Stanley Cup winners — may not return and that’s too bad for fans of the beleaguered sport. Yzerman was tough and talented, creative and clutch. He scored more than 100 points for six straight seasons, but was overshadowed by all-time greats Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

Honorable Mention:

Ron Francis: Being the all-time scoring leader for a franchise that called Hartford and Carolina home guarantees anonymity, but he did win two Cups with Pittsburgh.

Grant Fuhr: Everyone remembers the Oilers’ scoring sensations — Gretzky, Messier, Kurri, Coffey — but it was Fuhr who protected the net for five of those Cups.

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