The Tampa Bay Lightning have made their decision on their vacant general manager position, and the job is reportedly going to Red Wings executive Steve Yzerman. This has prompted jubilation in Tampa Bay (as well as among fans of “Stevie flippin’ Y” everywhere) , and perhaps deservedly so, as there’s no doubt that Yzerman was one of the top candidates for a general managing job available.
After all, Yzerman has that winning sheen to him, having managed Canada’s latest Olympic entry to gold, and coming away from the league’s most successful front office in Detroit, but for all the jubilation he’s still untested when it comes to running an NHL franchise. Working under Ken Holland must be fantastic training, but it doesn’t make him Ken Holland. He guided Canada to gold, but then again the previous guy to do so hasn’t had much success off the ice in the NHL.
Then there are reports like these, which state that Yzerman was reluctant to take the job, turning it down multiple times until the pot got sweet enough.
So there are caveats here. None of that changes the fact that the Lightning have a solid foundation, with good young players and established stars, and that they play in the weakest division in the weakest conference in the league, a place where a team can turn things around in a big hurry. And it doesn’t change the fact that Yzerman is highly regarded, or that he’s a real catch for the team.
This was a good hire. But it’s going to be a while before we know if Yzerman is a good NHL general manager.
Indeed while this may of Lightning fans celebrating and other teams fans groaning that they don’t get him. In a few year those cheers could turn into big boo’s and those groans could turn into laughter and sighs of relief. Yzerman does have the advantage of having a good team that just needs to add a few more pieces to get back in playoff contention. Problem is the ones that in those 8 spots right now are going to be extremely hard to take out. Ottawa might slip up if they don’t replace Volchenkov with a well rounded defense man. And Buffalo is a team that seems to slip up and have one good year followed by a bad one. But the rest I’d say are all pretty solid. So it’ll be tough for the Lightning or anyone else to get into that group next year.
I actually think Yzerman is walking into a decent situation. New ownership should help, and he’s already got a future Hart candidate in Stamkos there. Not to mention Victor Hedman, who had an understated rookie season. There’s more than a few good pieces in Tampa, but he will have some serious work to do early on. I don’t doubt he can put it all together there.
@ Scott Lewis:
It’s a very good situation for Yzerman. Good teams don’t fire their managers as a rule, and short of taking over somewhere like San Jose this is as good as it gets: a young team with pieces already in place, solid ownership, and a recent history of success both on- and off-ice.
If there is a problem, it’s probably the economic situation in Florida, more than any on-ice issues.