Legend & former Red Wing takes on GM role against his old team in first matchup at Tampa Bay

After transitioning from a Hall of Fame playing career to the Detroit Red Wings’ front office and then assembling Canada’s gold-medal winning Olympic team, Steve Yzerman having the ability to turn the Tampa Bay Lightning into a contender wasn’t in doubt.

Few expected him to do it this soon.

The Lightning are atop their division with 74 points - just like the Red Wings - heading into Thursday night’s showdown at the St. Pete Times Forum, the clubs’ first since Yzerman left Detroit to become Tampa Bay’s general manager.



Yzerman’s brilliant 22-year playing career ended in May 2006, and by September he joined the Red Wings’ front office alongside general manager Ken Holland.

He couldn’t have done better in his first chance at assembling a winner, putting together the Canadian Olympic roster that took home gold in the 2010 Vancouver Games. But with Holland running Detroit (34-16-6), Yzerman decided in May to leave for Tampa, where he became the vice president and general manager of a team that finished 2009-10 with the league’s sixth-fewest points.

The transition couldn’t be going much better. The Lightning (34-17-6) are in position to win the Southeast Division for the first time since 2003-04, and they’re 8-2-1 since Jan. 15 even after Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout loss to Philadelphia.

Yzerman insists Thursday’s meeting with the Red Wings is little more than another litmus test for his young team


Yzerman brought in defensemen Pavel Kubina(notes) and Brett Clark(notes) along with forward Simon Gagne(notes) in the offseason, but perhaps his best move has been the January trade for goaltender Dwayne Roloson(notes). The 13-year veteran is 9-5-1 with a 2.64 goals-against average - nearly half a goal better than what the team was allowing prior to his arrival.

Detroit, meanwhile, has a six-point cushion on Nashville in the Central Division and is getting healthy. Datsyuk has five points in four games since returning from a broken wrist - including a goal in Sunday’s 4-2 win over Boston - and defenseman Brad Stuart(notes) should play Thursday for the first time since suffering a broken jaw Jan. 7.

Stuart will certainly spend time trying to contain Steven Stamkos(notes), who leads the NHL with 40 goals and 74 points but has been held pointless in two career games against Detroit.

For the 12 current Red Wings that once played with Yzerman, though, stopping one of the league’s most potent offenses - and seeking a sixth straight win against the East - won’t be all they’re thinking about.