REPORT: Yzerman steps down as Lightning GM

It looks like the NHL season is starting to heat up with movement on both the players and management side. Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman is not the Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager anymore.

First reported by Joe Smith of The Athletic, Yzerman will be stepping down from his role as General Manager and will finish out the one year left on his contract in a senior advisory role. Julian Brisebois, now former Assistant General Manager, will be taking the role as GM. Brisebois has been highly sought after for any team’s open managerial role – so this is another reason to make the move now and keep Brisebois with the Lightning.

Does this mean that Yzerman will become the next Red Wings GM?

The Athletic’s Craig Custance spells it all out there for you. There is a correct timeline where Yzerman could (if he wanted to) become the Red Wings General Manager.

Pure speculation, but one could see Ken Holland moving “upstairs” into a Presidential or Directorial role and have Yzerman come in as the GM. That has happened plenty of times with long-lasting GMs.

Custance also mentions that the Red Wings want to figure out the future roles for the current front office. There has been a sense that this group has been in limbo for a couple years now. Not sure of their positions and where they will be cemented for longer-term.

If Yzerman does become the Red Wings GM, there will instantly be a much bigger hope for the future of this franchise. To have a familiar face running the show that not only is a legend but has proven he is one of the best General Managers in the NHL.

The future of the Red Wings might look much brighter if this becomes the case.

It sounds like Yzerman told the Lightning players that he is moving back to Detroit where he still has a home, though it wasn’t clear if the purpose was to work or not.