Comparing Yzerman’s GM Work in Detroit Versus Tampa Bay

Examining Steve Yzerman's work as Red Wings GM compared to to his time with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Steve Yzerman’s two stints as general manager, first with the Tampa Bay Lightning and now with the Detroit Red Wings, tell contrasting stories. In Tampa, his tenure was a masterclass in adaptive strategy, marked by a well-balanced blend of patience, calculated aggressiveness, and a clear, evolving vision for building a contender. 

In Detroit, however, while the approach still includes calculated risks, it has resulted in more misfires than successes. His patience, once an asset, now borders on excessive, often allowing key opportunities and available players to slip by without any clear signs of aggressive pursuit. 

In Tampa Bay, Yzerman’s hallmark was drafting and nurturing homegrown talent while expertly maneuvering trade deadlines to slowly bolster the roster into a perennial contender. Draft picks like Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat and Andrei Vasilevskiy were plucked in middle and late rounds, showing Yzerman's elite scouting skills. 

He would continue this approach in Detroit, where he didn't find many standout picks in the later rounds but consistently found top-tier talent in the first and second rounds. Almost all of those early selections became immediate impact players, including Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, Simon Edvinsson, and Marco Kasper, who were chosen in the first round from 2019 through 2022, a period that marked a strong run of successful drafting. 

At the 2013 trade deadline with the Lightning, he acquired goaltender Ben Bishop to shore up the position ahead of a playoff run, and a year later swapped he would make the tough decision and swap team legend Martin St. Louis for draft capital and younger impact winger Ryan Callahan, strengthening both present and future depth while not sacrificing scoring. 

When the time came, Yzerman added undrafted players like Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde, transforming them into core contributors for Tampa's eventual Stanley Cup winning teams.  He also cleared “dead weight” swiftly, moving players who didn’t fit his vision and the team's system to open cap space and ice-time for rising talent. He's continued to do this like his Vladimir Tarasenko trade this past offseason, dealing him to the Wild after not being a good fit with the team.   

When re-joining the Red Wings, this time in the management chair, the“Yzerplan” became infamous as he planned a long-term build with the understanding long years needed for talent to grow and mature. Early trades saw the departure of assets like Anthony Mantha, Filip Hronek, and Tyler Bertuzzi in exchange for future draft picks. Some of those picks turned out well, while others missed the mark, raising questions about whether it might have been more beneficial to retain the more developed players. 

He also added mid-career contributors through trades and free agency like Alex DeBrincat, Jake Walman, Robby Fabbri and Andrew Copp with some working out while others had to be shipped out of town like Walman and Fabbri. 

Comparing both eras, Yzerman’s core tactics remain with drafting and trading wisely, bolster through subtle mid-tier signings, and quickly remove dysfunctional pieces in the system. Things came together seemingly smoother in Tampa likely cause there was a pre-established core of future superstars in Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman plus veterans like Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier.  In Detroit, he only had Dylan Larkin to build a roster around, leading to the process taking longer than expected. 

It's been a long wait for Detroit fans to see a winning team as they've missed the playoffs nine straight seasons with no playoff games since the days of Ken Holland as GM. They are almost at the finish line for being a contending team and although fans haven't enjoyed the agonizing long wait, it may be finally coming to an end as Yzerman has made solidifying moves like bringing in a stable starting goaltender in John Gibson and is expected to give some runway for their rising prospects like Carter Mazur and Nate Danielson this pre-season.