The regular 1995-96 season was over, the Wings were ready heading for the playoffs, once again with the best record in the NHL.

The first round was a breeze, over the former Winnipeg Jets. The Wings and St. Louis Blues in the second round took it as far as Game 7, when Steve broke the tie with a 60-footer in double overtime to make the score 1-0, scoring one of the most dramatic goals of his career. That's one cherry.

Steve and his Wings were put to a halt against Colorado in the next round in 6 games, which marked the end of the Wings most successful season, victorywise. But there was still something missing in Yzerman's career, his long career, which he recently adapted and changed to a more defensive style, for the better. Being nominated for the Frank J. Selke trophy for the greatest defensive forward, Steve went on to the World Cup of Hockey in the summer to play for Team Canada. With a close game against Slovakia, Steve again scored in overtime to lead Team Canada to a 3-2 victory, and to allow to team to further exceed. There's the second cherry.

Playing Team USA in the final series, Steve again scored the game-winning goal to take the game 1-0, as well as giving the Canadians a 1-0 lead in the best of three showdown. Jackpot. Three months, three historic overtime game-winning goals. Pretty legendary.

Starting the 1996-97 season, he signed a 4-year contract with the Wings that would allow him to remain in Detroit for the rest of his career. Acquiring Brendan Shanahan from the former Hartford Whalers, the duo led Steve to one of his greatest starts ever, 34 points in 25 games. 

Steve was the starting centre for the Western Conference all-star team, due to nagging injuries by Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg. In February 1997, Steve played in his 1000th regular game, notching over 1300 career points by then.

Come April came the playoffs, another chance for Yzerman to take a sip from the stanley cup, something he has never done before, however the Wings were no longer the favourites. With the series tied 2-2 against the Blues in the first round, Steve made a speech to the team after the game, and the Wings went 14-2 since. Turning 32 on May 9th, Jimmy Devellano gave Stevie a no-trade clause, promising him no trade would occur with him involved. They beat the Blues in 6 games, then demolishing the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in 4 games straight, going on to beat their newly acquired rivalry, the Colorado Avalanche in 6 games.

Steve vs. Lindros=Steve wins! Steve Yzerman swept the Flyers in 4 games to win the beloved stanley cup. Yzerman, at age 32, was finally a champion. He was always a legend, but never a champion, until now. June 7th is a night he'll always remember, for he may have never won the cup again.

6 days later, coming home from a team golf outing, teammates Vladimir Konstantinov, Slava Fetisov, and masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov were injured due to a limo accident. Although Fetisov healed, Vladimir and Sergei would never directly be part of the team again. The summer went from the greatest summer ever to the worst for the team.

Positively, Yzerman was now in the books. The 1997-98 was the worst for Steve, offensively. Steve went through the season with only 47 points in 61 games. Miraculously, Steve had an incredible 22 points in 14 games to finish off the season with 69 points in 75 games. And a difficult season it was. He had not participated in the all-star game, came home from the Olympics without a medal, not even a bronze, was not named to the THN's top 50(although the voting occured before he won the cup), and suffered two minor injuries which cost him 7 games in total. Luckily, he notched his 1400th career point late in the season, and climbed to 12th in the career points list, only 2 behind Ray Bourque. On June 16th, 1998, it became June 1997 all over again, as the Wings swept the Washington Capitals to deliver their 2nd stanley cup championship to Hockeytown. As a bonus, Stevie also earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, an award such greats as Gretzky, Lemieux, and Orr have achieved years before.

Steve Yzerman has played 15 seasons in the NHL, all with Detroit. After the playoffs are over, it is likely he'll play five more seasons with the Wings, and then call it quits. Once he retires, he will not come back. Sounds like a legend. Long live the...