Yzerman speculation quickly grows Wings
There’s that Seattle rumour, but signs also point toward Detroit
TORONTO — When you considered the circumstances of Tuesday’s surprise move in Tampa Bay, Steve Yzerman suddenly stepping down as general manager of the Lightning to serve out the final year of his contract in an advisory role to newly elevated GM Julien BriseBois, it was worth remembering how Yzerman first arrived on Florida’s Gulf Coast eight years ago.
At the time, back in 2010, the newly installed Lightning owner Jeff Vinik went about identifying the brightest executive prospects in the business. Yzerman, a few years removed from retiring as a Hockey Hall of Fame-bound player and apprenticing in Detroit’s front office under GM Ken Holland, rightly ended up at the top of Vinik’s list. But when Vinik took longtime Detroit coach Scotty Bowman to lunch to ask him about Yzerman, Bowman, while he was quick to acknowledge Yzerman as a stellar candidate, told Vinik he didn’t like Tampa’s chances of landing him.
As Bowman has said more than once: “I just didn’t think he would leave Detroit.”
The truth of the matter is this: Even though Yzerman spent the past eight years building the Lightning into a Stanley Cup contender while carving out a reputation as one of the sharpest executives in the sport, he never really did leave Detroit. While he’s been working in Tampa, his wife and three now-universityaged daughters have been living in suburban Detroit. And while Yzerman has made his name as an executive in Florida, he remains synonymous with the Red Wings, with whom he won three Stanley Cups in his 20 years as captain.
Yzerman is one of just seven Red Wings to have his number retired by the club. He’s second to only Gordie Howe on the all-time franchise scoring list. And thanks to the events of Tuesday, there are those who’ll tell you Yzerman is also a likely candidate to return to the only National Hockey League franchise he ever played for once his one-year obligation with the Lightning runs out.
That’s pure speculation, of course. But it adds up. The 62year-old Holland, after all, signed a two-year deal in April to remain Detroit’s GM. But Holland has spoken publicly about being open to expanding the hockey IQ of Detroit’s front office. The Red Wings, who’ve missed the playoffs for two straight seasons after a remarkable 25-season run of post-season berths, are in the early stages of a rebuild. And even if Yzerman spoke Tuesday about the strain commuting to and from his NHL job had put on his life, at age 53, it’s hard to imagine he’s set on semi-retirement. Certainly, no matter what his plans, he’ll qualify as a coveted impending free agent. What team that’s not 100 per cent sold on the denizens of its management suite wouldn’t be inclined to call and enquire about his plans? Certainly the potential expansion franchise in Seattle would have to be interested.
Yzerman, whose resumé also includes Olympic gold medals as GM of Canada’s men’s hockey team in 2010 and 2014, was noncommittal when he was asked about his long-term plans.
“In the role I’m in, I’m 100 per cent committed to this year,” Yzerman said. “Beyond this year, I don’t have an answer for you.”
Said BriseBois: “Steve and I have discussed this. He wants to try it out for the year. I would love for him to stay beyond one season. At the end of the year, we’ll sit down. And if he enjoyed his new role, then obviously I would be more than happy if he were to stay on board with us.”
If Maple Leaf fans heard Tuesday’s out-of-the-blue news and had visions of a division rival in sudden disarray — well, it doesn’t appear to be the case. Yes, the timing was curious. But there didn’t seem to be anything haphazard about handing the franchise’s day-to-day runnings over to the 41-year-old BriseBois. The new guy has been Yzerman’s right-hand man for eight years. Before that he spent nine years in the front office of the Montreal Canadiens. Given all that, he’d been widely acknowledged as one of the best would-be GMs in the business for years.
“I would like to start reassuring you that once we are done with this announcement it will be business as usual,” BriseBois said. “Usually you get a GM job and you’re building something. You’re laying foundations. In my case it’s more about putting on the finishing touches. And it’s a lot more work for a smaller increment of improvement that we’re looking for at this point.”
Yzerman said the bandwidth required to build the Lightning into a contender — a Stanley Cup finalist in 2015 and a participant in three of the past four Eastern Conference finals — was a factor in his decision.
“Eight years really has flown by. I’ve done a lot of travelling. And it has worked. I feel I’ve been able to do the job, be where I’ve needed to be, as well as be where I’ve needed to be for my wife and daughters,” Yzerman said. “At this point now, I had to make a decision again at some point to sign another contract to be the general manager, or remain as a general manager or not. And with some time to reflect, to do the job the way it needs to be done — the way I feel it needs to be done — and ultimately to be with my family as well, it’s becoming difficult to do.”
That a job in a community in which he’s resided since shortly after the Red Wings drafted him fourth overall in the 1983 draft would make his daily grind less onerous — that the challenge of returning the Red Wings to prominence would appeal to one of the all-time great Red Wings — none of it is difficult to imagine. Yzerman said he made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon to “end any potential speculation.” But with respect, it’s just begun.