So now that we’ve fired our General Manager we need to hire a new one. When Steve Yzerman stepped down a week before the preseason started I was so excited I almost made myself sick. I wondered what was the catch? What will Stevie say at this press conference?
Yzerman announced he was essentially homesick. He wanted to be closer to his family in Detroit. He wanted to move back and continue working as a senior advisor with the Lightning. He is in the final year of his contract with Tampa and explained he would fulfill his obligation. Would you expect any less from Steve Yzerman?
It still comes as a shock to me, I mean the whole situation. Steve Yzerman built that Tampa Bay squad that is toying with the rest of the Eastern Conference. You think the Leafs are good? They’ve played the same amount of games and the Lightning have 8 more points than them.
How could a general manager that built this bully just pack up and leave? There has to be more to this story. Rumors have surfaced that the franchise wanted to go a specific way with certain players. Yzerman wanted to go after the likes of John Tavares rather than extend a player(s) that were already rostered.
Apparently, Steve Yzerman called their bluff by essentially telling the Tampa brass he would not have the reins pulled back on him. A similar situation happened while Stevie was running Hockey Canada. He wanted specific players to be a part of Canada, and others objected. Steve resigned from his role.
When a superstar player retires and enters into a high management position, it is an immediate risk of failure. It may not tarnish his playing career, but when you think of Wayne Gretzky, perhaps you think of the greatest NHL player of all-time. Many folks will remember the lack of success he had as the head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes.
Steve Yzerman has built his resume as a General Manager. He has a proven track record. His family remained in the Metro Detroit area the entire time while the Tampa Bay Lightning had employed him.
It makes perfect sense for the Ilitches to reach out to their former captain to be the vital piece necessary to rebuild this broken Detroit Red Wings franchise back into a perennial Championship contender.
The Detroit Red Wings need to sign Steve Yzerman to be the next general manager of the Detroit Red Wings.