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Hakandahlstrom at English Wikipedia, Joe sakic, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sean Russell, Yzerman, CC BY-SA 2.0
One of the greatest honors for an NHL player is to wear the captain’s “C” at some point during his career, as it signifies both excellence in play and in leadership ability. With the advent of free agency and players moving around from team to team, it has become increasingly rare for a team to have a captain for an extended period of time, e.g. a decade of more. In recent history, Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman come to mind as great captains who played their entire 20+ year Hall of Fame careers with one franchise and led their respective teams to the Stanley Cup. There are many career similarities between the two (both from Canada, both played center, both spent their entire career with one team, both were 1,500+ point scorers and strong two-way players, both were relatively quiet and chose to lead by example, etc.), thus it is only natural to compare them and ask:
Who was better – Joe Sakic or Steve Yzerman?
The Beginning
From top junior players in Canada to first round draft picks, both Sakic and Yzerman got off to strong individual starts in the NHL, though team success would take longer to come by.
As a youngster growing up in Canada, Sakic was a star in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Swift Current Broncos, winning Rookie of the Year in 1986-1987. While he was drafted 15th overall in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft by the then-Quebec Nordiques, he played one more year in the WHL before joining the Nordiques, earning both WHL MVP and Canadian Major Junior Player of the Year honors in that season. Upon making his NHL debut in 1988-1989, Sakic got off to a blistering start before getting hurt towards the end of the season. Overall, in 70 games played as a rookie, he had 23 goals and 39 assists for 62 points, though had a terrible -36 +/- rating, and finished eighth in the Calder Trophy voting for top rookie.
Similarly, Yzerman was a junior standout and top NHL draft pick – after playing for the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) from 1981 to 1983, he was drafted fourth overall in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings; Detroit had originally wanted to draft hometown star Pat LaFontaine (a Hall of Fame player in his own right), but he went third to the New York Islanders, so the Red Wings were forced to “settle” for Yzerman as a consolation prize. Nevertheless, Yzerman quickly proved to be a wise pick – as a rookie in 1983-1984, he had 39 goals and 48 assists for 87 points, though a -19 +/- rating, and finished second in the Calder Trophy voting to fifth overall pick and future Stanley Cup-winning goalie Tom Barrasso of the Pittsburgh Penguins. In addition, Yzerman made the first of his 10 All-Star Game appearances; at 18 years and 267 days of age, he would be the youngest player in NHL history to play in the All-Star Game until Jeff Skinner of the Carolina Hurricanes broke that record in 2010-2011.
Career Comparison
From their initial success as rookies, both Sakic and Yzerman would become franchise faces over 20+ year careers, initially establishing themselves as stars and then as leaders and captains for the Nordiques/Avalanche and Red Wings, respectively.
As an encore to his rookie campaign, Sakic put up his first 100-point season in 1989-1990 on 39 goals and 63 assists, which was good for 102 points, but again finished with a putrid -40 +/- rating. This was followed by another 100-point season the next year (48 goals and 61 assists for 109 points with a -26 +/- rating), and the first of 13 straight All-Star nods (there was no All-Star Game in the strike-shortened 1994-1995 season). Overall, in seven seasons in Quebec, Sakic averaged more than a point per game every season after his rookie year, and eclipsed the 100-point plateau three times, but in aggregate had a -101 +/- rating. In terms of leadership, Sakic was first named co-captain with Steven Finn for the 1990-1991 season (Sakic was the captain for home games and Finn wore the “C” on his sweater for away games); then, in 1992-1993, he would become sole captain of the Nordiques and hold that distinction for 16 years until his retirement.
In 1995-1996, the Nordiques were sold and relocated to Denver, Colorado, as a result becoming the current Colorado Avalanche. In that first season in Colorado, Sakic would put up a career high in points (120) on 51 goals and 69 assists, with a strong +14 +/- rating. Over the next four seasons, nagging injuries would limit him to between 60 and 75 games per year, though he continued to be a point-per-game producer. Then, in 2000-2001, Sakic had the best overall season of his career – over a full 82 games played, he had 54 goals and 64 assists for 118 points and a career-best +45 +/- rating. Moreover, he was honored with the Hart Trophy for league MVP, the Pearson Award (now known as the Lindsay Award) for most outstanding player in the regular season, and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for “sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability”, while also finishing second for the Selke Trophy for best defensive forward. For the rest of his stellar career, Sakic would remain a point-per-game producer, with his last 100-point season coming in 2006-2007 (36 goals and 64 assists for 100 points with a +2 +/- rating). Over his last two seasons, Sakic only played in 59 games total and would retire after the 2008-2009 season at age 39.
At the ripe young age of 21, Yzerman became the youngest captain in Red Wings team history and would wear the “C” for the remainder of his career, thus surpassing legendary defenseman Ray Bourque for longest-serving captain in NHL history. The next season, Yzerman would have the first 100-point season of his career (50 goals and 52 assists for 102 points and a +30 +/- rating) and finished fourth in the Hart Trophy voting. 1988-1989 would be his career-best statistical season, as he put up 65 goals and 90 assists for 155 points with a +17 +/- rating – the points total was third-best behind Mario Lemieux (199) and Wayne Gretzky (168), and Yzerman would also finish third for the Hart (again behind Lemieux and Gretzky) while winning the Pearson Award. Overall, during this career-best offensive stretch, Yzerman had six straight 100-point seasons, including another 137-point effort in 1992-1993 (58 goals and 79 assists along with a career-best +33 +/- rating).
Though Yzerman was always a great offensive player, after Scotty Bowman took over as the Red Wings’ head coach, he also worked to become a better defensive player. During the more defensive-oriented 1990s, Yzerman was a consistent 70 to 90-point scorer each year, while gradually improving his two-way play – this culminated in 1999-2000, when he had 35 goals and 44 assists for 79 points with a +28 +/- rating and also won the Selke Trophy. In the 2002-2003 season, Yzerman won the Masterton Trophy for perseverance after undergoing knee realignment surgery and missing all but 16 games; after two more seasons in an elder statesman role for the Red Wings, he retired at age 40 after the 2005-2006 season.
Over their respective 20+ year careers, both Sakic and Yzerman were models of consistency, each averaging well above a point per game (1.19 for Sakic vs. 1.16 for Yzerman) and posting six 100-point seasons. By virtue of more games played, Yzerman has a slight edge in total goals, assists, and points, and a significantly better career +/- rating; however, Sakic was the more decorated player, with more All-Star selections (13 vs. 10) and a Hart Trophy to his name. As expected, each player was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, Yzerman in 2009 and Sakic in 2012.
Regular Season Statistics
| Joe Sakic | Player | Steve Yzerman |
| 20 (1988-2009) | Seasons | 22 (1983-2006) |
| 1,378 | Games Played | 1,514 |
| 625 | Goals | 692 |
| 1,016 | Assists | 1,063 |
| 1,641 | Points | 1,755 |
| +30 | +/- | +184 |
| 13x | All-Star Games | 10x |
| 1x | Hart Trophies | – |
| – | Ross Trophies | – |
| 2x | Stanley Cups | 3x |
| 1x | Conn Smythes | 1x |
| 1x Lady Byng, 1x Pearson | Other Awards | 1x Pearson, 1x Selke, 1x Masterton |
| 2012 | Hall of Fame Induction | 2009 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
In addition to their individual accolades, both Sakic and Yzerman helped once-struggling franchises reach new heights, each eventually winning multiple Stanley Cups over time and taking home the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP.
In Sakic’s early years, the Nordiques were one of the NHL’s worst teams (as evidenced by his putrid +/- rating), and thus, he only made the playoffs twice in Quebec, never making it past the first round. However, that story changed once the team moved to Colorado, as Sakic played in the postseason 10 times with the Avalanche and had double-digit points in seven of those appearances. In the inaugural Colorado season, Sakic led the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup, where they would sweep the Florida Panthers for their first title, and was awarded the Conn Smythe for his stellar play (18 goals and 16 assists for a career-best 34 points with a +10 +/- rating). Then, in his 2000-2001 MVP season, he put up a 13 goal, 13 assist, 26 point, +6 +/- rating line in the playoffs and behind Patrick Roy’s heroics, the Avalanche came back from a 3-2 deficit in the Stanley Cup Finals to beat the New Jersey Devils in seven games for their second title; as team captain, Sakic broke tradition by not being the first player to hoist the Cup, instead letting Ray Bourque do it after finally winning the title in his 22nd and last NHL season.
Meanwhile, in his 22-year career with Detroit, Yzerman appeared in the postseason 20 times and was a steady contributor with eight 10+ point performances. He was a three-time Stanley Cup champion, first winning back-to-back titles in 1996-1997 (sweep over the Philadelphia Flyers) and 1997-1998 (another sweep, this time over the Washington Capitals); during the 1997-1998 campaign, Yzerman had 6 goals and 18 assists for 24 points (all career-bests) with a +10 +/- rating to capture the Conn Smythe. Later on, in 2001-2002, he would win his third and final Cup as the Red Wings beat the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.
Sakic and Yzerman both also have impressive resumes for their native Canada on the international stage. At the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, both were important contributors in leading Canada to the gold medal over Team USA, with Sakic being named MVP; additionally, Sakic won gold at the 1994 World Championships and 2004 World Cup, and silver at the 1991 World Championships and 1996 World Cup, while Yzerman took home gold at the 1984 Canada Cup and silvers at the 1985 and 1989 World Championships.
Playoff Statistics
| Joe Sakic | Player | Steve Yzerman |
| 172 | Games Played | 196 |
| 84 | Goals | 70 |
| 104 | Assists | 115 |
| 188 | Points | 185 |
| -2 | +/- | -11 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; this career trajectory is likewise evident in the careers of both Sakic and Yzerman. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Joe Sakic | Player | Steve Yzerman |
| 1990-1991, 1992-1993, 1995-1996, 1998-2002, 2003-2004, 2005-2007 | Decade of Dominance | 1987-1994, 1995-1997, 1999-2000 |
| 782 | Games Played | 763 |
| 397 | Goals | 448 |
| 585 | Assists | 625 |
| 982 | Points | 1,073 |
| +118 | +/- | +188 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
Across their decades of dominance, i.e. the better half of each player’s career, Yzerman comes out slightly ahead of Sakic in both total and per-game numbers (1.41 vs. 1.29 points per game). Thus, while Sakic was more of a consistent high performer over his career, Yzerman was arguably more brilliant at his peak.
My Thoughts
When you look at the various aspects of their careers, Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman are about as comparable as can be in almost every way – pedigree, longevity and consistency with one franchise, captaincy, scoring and awards, representing Team Canada, both even wore the number 19! As a result, trying to pick one is essentially splitting hairs, but when you look very closely at those hairs, Yzerman comes out slightly ahead in my mind. He played a little bit longer, had more career goals, assists, and points, was a little bit better defensively (as evidenced by his better career +/- rating and a Selke Trophy), served as captain a little bit longer than Sakic (as mentioned, he is moreover the all-time longest-serving captain in NHL history), and also won one more Stanley Cup.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Steve Yzerman
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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