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Steve Yzerman builds a solid Stanley Cup contender

 
Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman was hired five years ago, and in that time has built a team that has been to the Eastern Conference final twice and now the Stanley Cup final.
Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman was hired five years ago, and in that time has built a team that has been to the Eastern Conference final twice and now the Stanley Cup final.
Published June 2, 2015

TAMPA — Hey, Steve Yzerman, your Tampa Bay Lightning is playing for the Stanley Cup. How does that sound?

"It sounds okay,'' Yzerman said.

Understated, humble, all business. That's the Lightning general manager. What else would you expect?

Never a braggart as a player, Yzerman has carried that over to his role as the general manager. He also has brought something else with him from his playing days: Overwhelming success.

After winning three Stanley Cups as a player and another as an executive with the Red Wings, the Hockey Hall of Famer and one of the greatest players of all-time could put his name on the Cup for a fifth time. But this one is different. This time it's largely his doing. He built this team.

Hard to believe it has been five years since Yzerman was hired by owner Jeff Vinik to resurrect the Lightning. Taking over a franchise foundering near the bottom of the league, Yzerman came in and made sweeping changes. He hired Guy Boucher as coach and made several shrewd moves that helped Tampa Bay reach the Eastern Conference final in 2011.

But that was lightning in a bottle. Yzerman eventually fired Boucher, brought in Jon Cooper and laid the foundation for a team that made the playoffs last season. Yzerman managed the Lightning to the postseason despite losing star Steven Stamkos for half the season with a broken leg, then being forced to trade an unhappy Marty St. Louis for Ryan Callahan in a deal that has tilted heavily in Tampa Bay's favor.

"We made the playoffs last year and I think we were better than the 4-0 sweep to the Canadiens,'' Yzerman said. "I thought we had a competitive team.''

Competitive, but flawed. It was long on youth and short on grit. He addressed both deficiencies by bringing in veterans such as Anton Stralman, Brian Boyle, Brenden Morrow, Jason Garrison and Braydon Coburn. Those moves, along with stocking the team with solid young players such as Tyler Johnson and goalie Ben Bishop, have Yzerman being considered one of the best general managers in hockey. In fact, he is up for the NHL's GM of the year award, an award he should be favored to win.

This is a franchise that appears set to be a contender for years and he is the architect. But not a prognosticator.

"To say that I knew we were going to get all the way to the finals, well, I wasn't prepared to say that,'' Yzerman said. "I thought we had a competitive team. We were young and we tried to address some of the needs that we had and we were able to do that, but I wasn't guaranteeing the Stanley Cup final last July.''

Yzerman wasn't even sure the Lightning was going to get there as he nervously watched the minutes tick down in Friday's Game 7 2-0 victory against the Rangers.

"As the clock was still winding down, they pull their goalie with three minutes left,'' Yzerman said. "If they get one, they're going to pull that goalie again. So we really couldn't relax. I think we got the puck into the neutral zone with 20 seconds or so left, I felt comfortable at that point that we could hold on to a 2-0 lead.''

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Now his Lightning, the team he put together, is four wins from winning the Stanley Cup. Not that Yzerman is ready to make any predictions. He only knows one thing for sure.

"It gets harder,'' Yzerman said. "It doesn't get easier at this stage.''

What else would you expect him to say?