Steve Yzerman has stepped down as the general manager of the Tampa Bay
Lightning, Joe Smith reported Tuesday. Replacing Yzerman will be Lightning
assistant general manager Julien Brisebois. McKenzie also reported that Yzerman
 will fulfill the remainder of his contract as a senior advisor for the team.

BREAKING: Steve Yzerman told #TBLightning players in a meeting today he's
stepping aside as GM to be in advisory role, per source. BriseBois taking over
as GM.

- Joe Smith (@JoeSmithTB) September 11, 2018

Yzerman is in the last year of his contract and while the Lightning have been
hopeful to sign him to an extension, that doesn';t appear to be in the cards.
Yzerman has been with the Lightning since 2010 when he would join the team as
their vice president and general manager.Yzerman Was One of the Best

Throughout his time as general manager, Yzerman was regarded as one of the very
 best in the league from a variety of standpoints. Whether it';s roster
building through the draft, trading or even re-signing his own players to very
team-friendly deals, Yzerman has proven to be as good a front-office executive
as he was a player.Steve Yzerman (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)

That';s saying a lot considering Yzerman would score 692 goals and 1,755 points
 in 1,514 games in his career, all spent with the Detroit Red Wings. He is on a
 very short list of players to be a part of the 600-goal club as well as the
1,000-assist club. Coupling that with his three Stanley Cup victories and one
Olympic gold medal and it was clear that Yzerman was destined to be a Hall of
Famer - an honor he would receive in 2009.

This move comes as a surprise to the entire hockey world given how much success
 Yzerman has had in Tampa Bay and given where the team stands right now in
terms of Stanley Cup contention. While Brisebois was widely regarded as one of
the best assistant general managers in the NHL, he';ll have some very big shoes
 to fill with Yzerman having built the Lightning into one of the most dominant
teams in the NHL with one of the brightest futures in terms of prospects to
boot.

Yzerman was named the general manager of the year in 2014-15 with the Lightning
 reaching the Stanley Cup Final that season in a losing effort to the Chicago
Blackhawks, While he may have only won the award one time, it was a clear
testament to how important Yzerman is to the team.Steve Yzerman (Kim
Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

It will be interesting to see where Yzerman ends up given the fact that he
ultimately left the Detroit Red Wings front office early in his career due to
ambitions of running a team. Now that Yzerman has gotten that opportunity and
turned the Lightning into a legitimate contender, his future could go in any
number of different directions. Whether he has his eye on a different role on a
 different team or whether he is simply done with the general manager role
altogether isn';t clear.

The Lightning will be holding a press conference at 4:00 p.m. EDT, however,
which will likely include the official announcement of this move and
potentially more details.

Check back to see the updated story as information is released.

The post Yzerman Steps Down as Lightning General Manager appeared first on The
Hockey Writers.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheHockeyWrite...
--- SBBSecho 3.06-Win32
 * Origin: TequilaMockingbird Online - Toms River, NJ (1:266/404)