Now that the NHL regular season has come to an end, teams will start to clean house handing out pink slips by the dozen to management, coaches and players. Expect to hear a lot of rumors linking Detroit Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman to many executive positions that open up.
It’s been an odd year for Steve Yzerman; the former Detroit Red Wings superstar built a masterpiece in Tampa Bay before flying the coop on the eve of training camp at the beginning of the season.
The Lightning have cruised to a record-matching regular season recording 62 wins; the same total Steve Yzerman led his Detroit Red Wings club to in 1995/96. If you’re Yzerman, it must be pretty special knowing you were a part of both teams’ to ever win 62 games in a season.
One as a Captain who recorded 36 goals and added 59 assists totaling 95 points in 80 contests, and on the other hand, he was Picasso painting the perfect team in Tampa Bay by making excellent draft picks and blending them with existing players along with all the players primarily acquired from the New York Rangers.
In an article published by Mlive.com written by Ansar Khan, they provide links from a New York Times expressing the Rangers desire to land Yzerman to fill a role Glen Sather had recently vacated;
"According to the New York Post, Yzerman has some level of interest in the New York Rangers’ job which opened after Glen Sather announced Thursday he is stepping down from the day-to-day operations of the club.Larry Brooks reported Friday that Yzerman is “amenable to being wooed by the Rangers.”Brooks cautioned that this news “does not mean that a deal is done” and it is uncertain whether the Rangers have asked for and received permission from the Lightning to speak with Yzerman. He said if the request hasn’t already been made, it will be.He also noted that even if Yzerman is interested in the Rangers that he would not automatically be offered the job."
Steve Yzerman finds himself as the big fish in a small pond, he will be the most sought after executive and likely linked to many jobs. There have been rumors linking Yzerman to the Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators, and most recently the New York Rangers. It’s been widely speculated that Yzerman will return to the Detroit Red Wings in some capacity yet the franchise just signed head coach Jeff Blashill to a two-year extension and long-time GM Ken Holland has one more year remaining on his deal.
Steve Yzerman isn’t the type of guy to bump someone he respects so much out of a position he’s been in for so long. I initially expected the franchise to bring Yzerman on in some capacity this summer while Holland remained with the staff. It would be perfect for one of them to serve as a senior advisor/president and the other as the teams’ general manager. The two have worked together in Detroit before along with Hockey Canada in the past.
Although I’ve mentioned I don’t see Yzerman running Ken Holland out of town I would have never guessed Yzerman would have stepped down on the eve of training camp, it is out of character. He mentioned he wanted to move home, back to Detroit to spend more time with his family who had never relocated to the Tampa Bay area. Now, these positions are opening up and he’s going to be linked to many of them. Detroit needs to reach out and give Yzerman a reason to stay with his family in Detroit.
If he’s interested in the Rangers job, it all but confirmed there is more to the story of stepping down with Tampa Bay than what we were led to believe. Let me say this; if Chris Ilitch allows Steve Yzerman to skip town and join a franchise not named the Detroit Red Wings, it will be the biggest mistake in Detroit sports history. The Wings need to bring Yzerman home at all costs in whatever role works whether it’s the general manager or an upper management position.