from Mike McKenna of The Daily Faceoff,

It’s been on my mind for a while now: Steven Stamkos is the second coming of Steve Yzerman.

And when the Lightning captain scored his 500th NHL goal Wednesday night against the Vancouver Canucks, I couldn’t help but think of the parallels.

Stamkos and Yzerman both captained Stanley Cup winning teams. Both are lifers with one NHL organization. They’re prolific scorers. And so much more.

I think direct comparisons are really hard to make in sports. And no doubt, Yzerman and Stamkos have charted separate courses during their respective NHL careers. But whenever Stamkos decides to hang ‘em up, I believe they’ll be seen in a very similar light....

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Stamkos has started to resemble Yzerman, who captained the Detroit Red Wings for an astounding 19 seasons. He could skate. So can Stamkos. And while the Lightning center is a better pure shooter than Yzerman was, I think Stamkos sees the game in a similar way.

When you compare their respective careers, the similarities are striking. The production of each player – when adjusted for era – tends to mirror one another’s. Through 15 adjusted seasons according to Hockey Reference, they’d be 71 points apart. But take a look beyond point totals. Stamkos and Yzerman were both negative plus-minus players several times early in their career. That’s not to say either was irresponsible. But I do think it’s tangible that Yzerman spent the last 14 seasons of his career as a plus player. And it’s now been a decade since Stamkos finished an NHL season as a negative.

Yzerman may have been a more complete, 200-foot player earlier in his career than Stamkos was. But I think the Lightning forward doesn’t receive enough credit for his play away from the puck.

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