Who was a better captain, Wendel Clark or Steve Yzerman?

Question

Believe it or not, I actually had this debate--and it got rather heated--with a friend last night. (I said Yzerman, by the way.)

Answer 1

Is your friend "special"?

Anyone who would say anything but Yzerman, is either a disillusioned Leafs fan, Wings hater, or worse yet- both. God knows that there are tons of those people out there.

Answer 2

I'm pretty sure that you have already found out that Steve Yzerman is by far the better captain. Yzerman was a TRUE leader.

Im only answering this question in response to someone above me saying that Steve Yzerman is probably the second best, or third best captain in NHL history. This is incorrect. Steve Yzerman is the single best captain of any team and sport EVER! He served the position for over 20 seasons. If you watch him play in his early years, he was absolutely amazing. He could have the puck for 3 minutes straight and skate around everybody, all over the ice, and then go score a goal when he chose to. He was just like Gretzky. Yzerman chose to change his game after a few seasons to become more of a leader and overall great player. He stopped thinking about just scoring goals and try to improve his defensive game. He is the most unselfish player to ever play the game. He was an athlete that kids could look up to with no worries of him being a cheater or fake.

To say that Gretzky was a better captain is just a slap in the face to Yzerman. After Edmonton, Gretzky did not help any other team win a cup. He also played for 4 different teams in his career. Yzerman chose to stay with Detroit his whole career. Yzerman also took lots of pay cuts to help get other players signed under the salary cap.

Now if you have trouble believing this, watch some highlights of Yzerman's last games in the 2006 series against Edmonton. He was easily the best player on Wings that series, possibly the best player on the ice along with Ryan Smith. He played so well even though his body was so broken down.

The guy was amazing, thats all i can say. Im so glad that i was a wings fan to enjoy the many years that Yzerman was there.

Answer 3

What a lot of people don't remember is that the Steve Yzerman of the last ten years of his career was a different guy than the first ten years. He wasn't a great captain at first - he was a kid with talent and skill. He slowly - very slowly - learned how to be a good captain, and later a great captain. There were time he was nearly traded in the mid 90's because of the ineffective playoff results of the team, a lot of which was laid at his doorstep. That being said, one of the main reasons the Wings became the team they did was because of the growth and leadership of Yzerman. He persevered, said the right things when they needed to be said, did the right things when they needed to be done, and created - along with Delvellano, Bowman, Illitch, Holland, and others - the Wings team of the last decade-plus. No, Yzerman wasn't al;ways a great Captain - but he became one slowly, and without that you wouldn't have the Wings you do. Few players made the adjustments he did, suffered through the embarrassment and the humiliation he did, endured the pain and the injuries he did, and still lead the team with grace and style. Yes, I am a Wings fan, and I watched Yzerman from the day he was that dumb kid, but that only gives me perspective, not blind loyalty. I doubted his skill at times in the early-mid 90's like everyone else. As someone who had his Captain's letter taken from him once, I thought it would have been justified at one point - but someone knew better, and they all proved me wrong.

Answer 4

Steve Yzerman is by far one of the MOST underrated players of all time. He was the best captain. EVEN though I liked Clark, Yzerman did so much more for his team and for hockey. He was unselfish and a great competitor. THe mere fact he put his personal numbers aside for the sake of the team speaks volumes.

FIrst of all, Tornto didn't lose to Vancouver because of Clark.
Clark could score. He had heart. He was all of what 5'9".. He was one of the most feared players in the league. He beat up McSorley standing up for Doug Gilmour who should have been able to take on McSorley himself. Wendel was the heart and soul of that team for years. Lets also not forget that the year the Leafs lost to the Kings in the conference finals they eliminated the Red Wings... OH YEAH.. I FORGOT!!

Answer 5

That question, is difficult to answer. I am a huge Leafs fan, and am compelled to say Clark, who is up there with Dougie Gilmour and Gary Roberts as my favorite player. Clark can do it all, hit, fight and score, with one of the most deadly wrist shots the hockey world as ever seen. He was such a leader, always known for going over and beyond in the call of duty. Going deep into the trenches, dig out the puck, as well as scoring rather pretty goals. He was a warrior. Yzerman too, was a fantastic captain for many years. His work ethic was 2nd to none and he too could produce very high numbers. Honestly.. I'm going to say Clark. but Yzerman is an incrediable captain as well

Answer 6

I'm sorry to the guy who put down the leafs but I am an avid Leaf fan...Wendel Clark was a great captain and the Leafs did quite well with Wendel Clark, Doug Gilmour and Dave Andreychuk. However, when I asked my husband, he told me that Steve Yzerman had helped his team win 3 cups...so from this, I can conclude that Steve Yzerman was a better captain.
Please don't beat up your friend over this, and if he is a Leaf's fan, tell him or her that I am too.

Answer 7

Both were great captains with terrific intangibles who made players around them better and played their hearts out.

Given that, Yzerman had more talent, though obviously Clark was no slouch. Basically, I think they have similar 'captaining' skills, so I'd rather have the guy who notched a 155 pt season.

I would not judge them based on who won cups. A great captain improves his team, but there's still a lot of other people who have an impact!

Answer 8

Yzerman. Wendel was a heart and soul guy but he was hurt too much, and wasn't with the Leafs from his entire career. Yzerman led the Wings for over 20 years.

Answer 9

What makes a great Captain? Being able to be a good leader in the locker room and on the ice.

Yzerman was Captain for 20 years. Same team, no less. Played his heart out night after night. Was a great leader on the ice, off the ice and was a terrific representative for the city of Detroit. He was easily the better of the two. Hell, Yzerman could be one of the top 2 or 3 in the history of the NHL. Begging pardon of course Misters Messier, Gretzky, Lemeiux, etc...

Answer 10

Yzerman lead his team to cups, Wendel made the MLG faithful cheer while he knocked sense into some opposing player.
Not even close here Case. I loved Wendel but he was no Stevie Y. And coming from a Dead Thing Hater that's big praise.

Answer 11

Yzerman was Detroit. He personified that team and led by example. He went out there and worked his butt off night in and night out and managed to maintain himself as one of the most respected players ever. He wasn't the best player in the game, but if you had to define hockey player you couldn't do better than him.

I hated the man as North Stars fan, but when the Stars left for Dallas, my new team became the Red Wings just because of the way he played the game. As a hockey rink rat growing up, I have nothing but respect for the way Yzerman played the game.