The Free Press posted a short excerpt from Helene St. James’ book, “Big 50: Detroit Red Wings,” which is available on Amazon this Tuesday. She discusses Steve Yzerman’s gap-toothed smile when he lifted the Stanley Cup in 1997:
Steve Yzerman was one of the most photographed men in the NHL in June 1997, when the Red Wings finally ended a 42-year drought and won the Stanley Cup, dispatching the Blues, Ducks, Avalanche, and Flyers en route. Yzerman had lost one of his front teeth two years earlier, and it had been replaced with a crown by team dentist Chet Regula. When a toothache became gradually more unbearable during the spring of 1997, Yzerman ended up in the dentist’s chair the day after Game 1 against the Ducks. “I was feeling lousy all the time and the doctor said I had a bone infection and should have it removed,” Yzerman said at the time.
The tooth was taken out May 17. Before a new one could be put in, the Wings were Stanley Cup champions. The image of Yzerman hoisting the Stanley Cup while grinning a gap-toothed smile became an iconic image. “Here I am looking like a hillbilly,” Yzerman said of the photo. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
