When he was introduced recently as the new Calgary Flames assistant general manager, Jay Feaster was asked about the last job he held in Tampa Bay and the guy now doing it.
“Hes coming up aces,” Feaster remarked about Lighting GM Steve Yzerman. “In my mind, hes a strong candidate for executive of the year right now.”
Maybe Yzerman should even get some votes for rookie of the year.
Steve Yzerman became a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame last Novermber. (Getty Images) He doesnt qualify for the freshman award of course, although Yzerman was the runner-up in 1984 when he launched a 22-season career that was spent entirely in Detroit and included winning three Stanley Cups. Still two months into his debut as a general manager, the first-ballot Hall of Famer already has made a major impact on his new team, performing with the savvy of a veteran and, well, putting a charge into a franchise that desperately needs one.
“Its a different vibe, the way things are being run and the structure, everything is done the right way,” Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier told the “Youve got a guy like Steve Yzerman, who is a leader in this league. The players, the people from the outside, everybody sees it.”
Pretty clearly it seems. The sad truth for Tampa Bay is that it has been a punch line around the NHL for many of its 17 seasons, despite having once won a Stanley Cup. But that was before the lockout, a lifetime ago for an organization that has been in a constant state of regression since play resumed.
But since arriving in late May, Yzerman has done much to change the dynamic on Floridas Gulf Coast by bringing instant credibility to an organization purchased at a steep discount a few months earlier. New owner Jeffrey Vinik can insist that Yzermans reputation was less a factor in his hiring than his vision for team building, but theres little doubt the presence of a late-model icon from Detroit means something as veteran newcomers like Simon Gagne and Pavel Kubina noted when they decided to join the team.
“I talked to Steve and I was very impressed with the direction hes going in with the team,” Kubina said after signing as a free agent.
Yzerman hasnt wasted any time putting his stamp on things after spending the years following his 2006 retirement being groomed in Detroits model front office and then assembling Canadas gold medalists at the Vancouver Olympics.
He took over a Lightning team that finished eight points out of the playoffs after ending last in the conference the season before, and in a series of moves that would earn kudos in fantasy leagues, already has revamped its defense, added scoring power up front and economically settled the goaltending situation. Along the way, Yzerman won the bidding for a highly-touted new coach, putting together a team that looks like a playoff contender at the very least and has a better immediate payroll and longer-term salary cap situation.
“Were improving the club, not only in the short term but by creating some long-term flexibility, which has been one of our priorities all along,” Yzerman said.
Yzerman began shuffling at the draft less than a month after being hired when he traded defenseman Andrej Meszaros to Philadelphia for a second-round pick, a move that chopped more than $4 million annually off the next four payrolls. Part of the savings were used to lock up Martin St. Louis for the next four seasons and to add defensemen Kubina and Brett Clark and potential starting goalie Dan Ellis as free agents.
The new GM made what many considered a daring move at the draft by using the sixth overall pick on Brett Connolly. Then Yzerman managed to stun the hockey world even more when he acquired Gagne from Philadelphia for Matt Walker and a fourth-round pick only hours after Ilya Kovalchuk apparently signed with New Jersey.
The trade for a 30-40 goal scorer immediately upgraded an offense that already had 50-goal scorer Steven Stamkos, St. Louis, Lecavalier and Ryan Malone, although Gagnes injury history made it a bit of a risk. But the 30-year-old Gagne has only one season remaining on his contract at $5.25 million, while Tampa Bay still is about $10 million under the cap.
More important, the Lightning will save nearly $4 million by getting out of Walkers contract early, money it will need when Stamkos needs a new deal after next season and sophomore Viktor Hedman needs one the year after. Yzerman said he factored that in making the Gagne deal because his priority is still to grow with drafted and developed young players like Stamkos and Hedman, but felt the risk was justified.
“Im fully aware of every injury in detail that he has had over the past few years, I just think it was worth doing that to acquire a player of his skill level,” Yzerman said. “I was looking to add a forward who would play among our top two lines and be an offensive-minded player. To add one of those and to (re-sign Stamkos and Hedman) the only way is to move some of the commitments with term on them.”
In Gagnes case, it involved getting a veteran to waive his no-trade clause heading into his contract season. Gagne didnt hesitate.
“Im not stupid, I need a big year,” Gagne said. “With the Lightning, I see a team willing to make some moves to get back into the playoffs. I like the way Steve Yzerman is thinking.”
So do a lot of people.
