Sports

Update: He's Back! Steve Yzerman Named GM and Executive Vice President

April 19, 2019, 5:00 PM

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The author is a freelance writer and former Detroit News reporter. 

By Paul Harris

Steve Yzerman is back.

The Wings announced Friday that he's been named executive vice president and general manager, responsible for all hockey operations. 

Ken Holland becomes senior vice president and will serve as a senior advisor to hockey operations.

"I'm extremely excited about being back in Detroit," says Yzerman, who turns 54 in three weeks. The Hockey Hall of Fame member rejoins the team where he spent his full NHL career from 1983-2006.

He became team captain at age 21 and continuously served for the next two decades, retiring as the longest-serving captain of any team in North American major league sports history. He'll always be known locally as "The Captain."

"This is a truly exciting day for the Detroit Red Wings, we are thrilled to welcome Steve Yzerman back to Hockeytown," said team owner Christopher Ilitch.

"Steve has produced tremendous results as a General Manager in the National Hockey League, as well as an executive in international competition. He is a smart, driven, competitive and determined executive with outstanding leadership skills, as demonstrated both over his playing and management careers. Steve and Ken have proven to be two of the most successful general managers of their era, and to have Steve leading our hockey operations and Ken providing valued support is a tremendous advantage for our organization. I believe we took a strong management team and made it even stronger today."

Original post, Friday morning:

Stop the presses, because this sounds like big news: 

The press conference will be to announce Steve Yzerman as the team’s new general manager, according to multiple sources, including Mlive, Associated Press, ESPN, TSN and Sportsnet.

Yzerman would return after being with the Tampa Bay Lightning since 2010. He was their general manager until just before the start of this season, when he stepped down to a consultant role.

Yzerman gave his reason for the decision as wanting to spend more time with his family, which had remained in suburban Detroit.

Yzerman’s contract with the Lightning ran until the end of this season which, for Tampa Bay, ended this past Tuesday night, when its first-round sweep at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets was completed.

The reports also say that Holland, who has been Detroit’s general manager since 1997, will remain as a senior vice president.
But according to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Holland has already been contacted by other teams about being their general manager, including the Edmonton Oilers and the expansion Seattle franchise.

Yzerman, 53, was a special assistant to Holland from 2006-07 to 2009-10.

He was the longest-serving captain in NHL history, for 20 seasons from 1987 until his retirement in 2006. Yzerman played 22 seasons for the franchise and is its second leading scorer all-time with 1,755 points (692 goals, 1,063 assists in 1,514 games). He won three Stanley Cups as a player and the Wings won another Cup in 2008, when he was a part of the front office. Yzerman was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.

The Lightning reached the conference final during his first season in Tampa Bay and qualified for the playoffs five times in his eight years as GM but didn’t win the Cup.

Yzerman also served as Team Canada’s executive director in 2010 and 2014, assembling teams that won the Olympic gold medals both years.

Chris Chelios told MLive: 

“Yzie brings instant credibility, and that’s not taking anything away from Kenny,” Chelios told MLive. “Sometimes it’s a player you acquire in the draft or a trade that gives you that boost. Yzie, from up in the press box, will have that effect. He speaks with conviction. The players will want to play for him. It’s going to be great.

“It didn’t take him long to build that team in Tampa. His work ethic as a GM was the same as a player. He’s going to be chomping at the bit to get the team ready for training camp. … The timing is perfect. He’s ready to take on the new challenge and I’m sure he’s looking forward to it.”



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