It was announced in a press conference Tuesday at the St Pete Times Forum that NHL Hall of Fame member Steve Yzerman will be the 6th general manager in team history. In making the announcement, Lightning owner Jeff Vinik said he "came to the very strong conclusion that Steve is the right man to bring a winning culture back to Tampa Bay and also to build a world class organization here ... Steve and I have had several conversations about how great it would be if 27 years from now he and I are still working here and he and I were still working hard on the Lightning and I am the owner and he is the GM of a championship hockey team. That is the goal right now."
In his opening remarks, Yzerman said, "In those 4 years [as an executive with the Red Wings] I was able to learn from one of the most successful and best management teams in hockey, this I know prepares me for the job that lies ahead in Tampa Bay. It takes time. There is no easy fix, I dont sit up here with the notion to wave a magic wand and we are a Stanley Cup contender. My intention is to improve the Tampa Bay Lightning immediately for the upcoming season but with the long term goal of making this a perennial strong team that can compete and contend on a long term basis."
When asked what the biggest weakness was on the current squad, Yzerman pointed to the goaltending. "Currently we have one goalie under contract at the NHL level. I know Antero Nittymaki is approaching unrestricted free agency on July 1st, a priority for us will be to have a 2nd goaltender there. I think everything has to be assessed, but you need two NHL experienced goaltenders to start. You have two or three young prospects that were in the American hockey League or in Europe that have potential, I think you have to figure out what to do with that second goaltender position."
Yzerman has spent the past 27 years in the Detroit Red Wings organization as a player, captain and an executive. He has won the Stanley Cup four times (three as a player and one as an executive). He was elected to the hockey Hall of Fame on his first year of eligibility in 2009. He spent 20 years as the captain of the Red Wings, the longest tenure of any captain in all of sports.
