Stevie Yzerman to be new Tampa Lightning GM

According to the story on NHL.com, our Elliotte broke the story

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=530098

"It was a tough decision for Steve, that's why it took such a long time," Devellano said. "It's not easy leaving Detroit for somebody like Steve. He's been with us for 27 years. He came as an 18-year-old and just recently celebrated his 45th birthday. So it was not an easy decision for him to make.

Congrats to Stevie Y, one of the classiest guys ever to put on skates---Jean Beliveau classy.

Used to work with a woman who was in the same French Immersion class with Steve back in high school Smartest guy in the class according to Sandra.

 

As somebody who has lived in the Detroit area all of my life and am the same age as Stevie Y (I'm a few months younger), I'm really bummed to see him go. But, it's a great opportunity. Hopefully, he'll come back to the Wings when the opportunity arises. You're right JR - he's a class act.

Man, it's a heck of a news day around here with Kwame Kilpatrick's sentencing, the U-M football saga and this. Wow.

 

Spent a few minutes chatting with Yzerman as we waited for an elevator in our hotel while off to the second day of the NHL Draft in Montreal. He is two months older than me but doesn't look it.

Saw him later that day and he waved and said hi as he was headed to the fitness centre and I was headed to Rue St. Catherines.

 

Yzerman was really roadblocked in the Red Wings' front office: Ken Holland is 54 and shows no inclination to quit any time soon. Yzerman was also probably about 3rd in the line of succession.

Basically, if he wanted to become a GM before the age of 60, he was gonna have to go somewhere else.

 

Stevie knew he wasn't going anywhere in the Wings organization.

But I imagine Yzerman got one helluva apprenticeship under Jimmy Devellano and Ken Holland in the three (?) years in the Wings front office, not to mention his Team Canada tenure.

 

My cousin loves everything about Stevie Y and the Wings, and she is heartbroken.

 

Sad day for Detroit, but a good day for hockey. Yzerman has grown into the position for sure. I hope he flourishes.

But my first reaction was just WOW.

 

Reminds me of somebody else who joined the same organization at age 18 and left at age 45 because there was nothing for him to do and nowhere to grow.

 

Really, really, really like this move for two reasons - Steve Yzerman gets a chance to implement his own philosophies and all that he learned with the Red Wings, and he'll have the opportunity to change the culture within the Tampa Bay organization - an organization has suddenly gained credibility again because of the hire.

 

Sirs, Madames,

I am the voice in the wilderness.

I dealt with him a fair bit in his playing days in Det and I didn't get the cult of SY. Smartest guy in the class? Didn't see any sign of it. Character? Yup, sure. I knew guys who played with him in age-group stuff in Ott and they all loved him. But command of the business issues? Being the face of the franchise? I don't see it. Any reason to think he'll be better than 99 at this stuff? I can't find it. Oh, he's an improvement on Lawton. And he'll get a better coach than that sh-thead Tocchet. Franchise savior? That would be Stamkos, not Y.

o-<

 

Presumably he'll have authority to hire a couple of ace capologists and nuts-and-bolts numbers guys to help him on the business end (as well as a couple top-level scouts).

As a consensus HOF player, he'll have instant cred with fans as the "face of the franchise." It'll be a whole new bag to see if he can decide on the players he wants and make it work under cap conditions, but Holland has been very good on that stuff, so if Yzerman was paying even remote attention, he should get the basic concepts.

 

Totally agree. Tampa has some good pieces in place and is not that far away from becoming a contender again. I bet he'll do a good job so long as he doesn't make any trades with the Wings.