Steve Yzerman July 3 NHL history
2006: Steve Yzerman announces his retirement after 22 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

July 3 NHL History

1970: Teemu Selanne is born, in Helsinki, Finland. Selanne is the first-round choice (No. 10) by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1988 NHL Draft; he joins the Jets in 1992-93 and sets rookie records with 76 goals and 132 points. Selanne scores at least 50 goals in 1996-97 and 1997-98, and then has 48 goals and 94 points to help the Anaheim Ducks win the Stanley Cup in 2006-07. He ends his NHL career after the 2013-14 season with 684 goals and 1,457 points, NHL records for Finnish-born players, and is elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.

1998: One year and one day after signing one future Hockey Hall of Fame member, goaltender Ed Belfour, the Dallas Stars add another when they sign forward Brett Hull. Though Hull isn’t the offensive force who scored 228 goals in a three-season span from 1989-92 with the St. Louis Blues, he scored 32 goals in his first season with the Stars, then gets eight more in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including the overtime goal in Game 6 of the Final that wins the Cup for the Stars.

2006: Steve Yzerman announces his retirement after 22 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

The Red Wings select Yzerman with the No. 4 pick of the 1983 NHL Draft and name him captain three years later; at 21, he’s the youngest player (at that time) to be named captain and fills that role for an NHL-record 19 seasons. 

Yzerman piled up points early in his career but develops into a more effective two-way player later on and helps the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup in 1997, ending a 42-year drought. They repeated in 1998 and win again in 2002. He retired with 1,755 points (692 goals, 1,063 assists).

“I’ve enjoyed every aspect,” he said. “My whole career has really been a highlight in that I’ve really enjoyed playing. At the age of 5 and before that I really wanted to be an NHL player. It’s all I ever wanted to do.”

 

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