The “Y” Factor

Steve Yzerman, the new GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning

Jeff Vinik, in virtually every news conference and press release I’ve watched or read, has stressed his intention to make the Tampa Bay Lightning a “world class organization.”  With his move yesterday of hiring Steve Yzerman to be the new GM of the Bolts, I believe Vinik has taken a huge step towards achieving his goal.  Steve Yzerman perfectly fits the bill of ‘world class.’  He was a world class talent on the ice (Sixth in NHL history in points), has a world class history of winning (Four Stanley Cups and Two Olympic gold medals as a player/Executive/Olympic GM), and has received world class respect (his #19 was retired by the Detroit Red Wings as well as the Canadian Men’s National Team; he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009).  Therefore, I would say that Vinik has done an exceptional job of finding a GM for the team that perfectly exemplifies what it means to be world class and is a proven winner at several levels.

Now, whether or not Yzerman can bring that culture of winning he is so familiar with to Tampa Bay, remains to be seen.  Though the team has some building blocks in place, there is still much work to be done to make the Lightning a consistent contender.  Several major issues need to be addressed including the need for a true #1 goaltender, the absence of a fast, puck-moving, play-making defenseman (the Dan Boyle type), and an overall lack of secondary scoring on the team.  It’s a big job and will certainly take longer than the course of a single season.  However, barring some major meltdown, Yzerman should be in Tampa Bay for at least the length of his 5-year contract, which should give him plenty of time to put his winning stamp on the team and instil his world class attitude.  Though this is his first run as general manager of a team, Yzerman has worked with some of the best back in the Detroit organization.  He also brings something that the Tampa Bay Lightning organization has been sorely lacking in recent years, and that is respect.  That, my friends, is the “Y” factor and is what makes Steve Yzerman the perfect fit for the Lightning.

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