Steve is Here, Man

(FOHS fans will get that pun by me going with our first ever called asking if it's "Eye-zer-man" or "Is-ear-man"-- got it?? Okay, not so funny if you weren't there.)

The Tampa Bay Lightning take another step to relevancy by hiring Steve Yzerman as their new GM. Yzerman was under Ken Holland's tutelage in Detroit and has been the head guy with Hockey Canada putting together the 2010 Canadian Olympic Team and a couple World Championship teams, as well. Now, he takes over the mess that has been created in Tampa before him, but not by the GM prior, but due to the ownership situation that had happened.

The good thing with this team is that they have a solid framework. The likes of Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos, and Victor Hedman on the roster help, but there's work to be done elsewhere, for sure.

One of the first things would be trying to get Stamkos re-signed to a long-term deal come July 1st and make sure that he's under contract for this team for a while. Stamkos will be the cornerstone moving forward, that's for sure. Of course, in order to do that, some players may need to be moved. The one name that pops up is always Lecavalier, but his No-Movement Clause ruins that rumor in it's tracks. Especially with the future ahead, it's unlikely Lecavalier will move that clause and move himself out. Even with Lecavalier slumping last season, it could be hard to move him even if he did waive that clause. St. Louis has another year left and Yzerman will probably see what he does with a second year alongside Stamkos to see if he's worth an extension. To free up the money, Ryan Malone could be moved out, so that his contract is off the books; but considering his underachievement for his big contract-- another hard sell.

Plus, what could Yzerman do with the coaching issue. Many names have been mentioned in terms of the people he's worked closely to like Dave Lewis and Ken Hitchcock, but while familiarity could be nice-- the fit with the team will be what gets them to the next level. Depending on how long Yzerman has known about this deal, which he has been offered numerous times before saying yes, he could have been scouting out who he could get for that role.

Regardless of what happens, Yzerman is a good hockey mind. He has always been know as a leader on and off the ice, which definitely shows in his limited time in the front office after his 2006 retirement. If there's anyone who can clean up the mess that is in Tampa, it's Yzerman. He's definitely a better choice than some of the names put out there-- like Pierre McGuire, Doug Risebrough, or Dave Nonis-- and really could bring together the best team to get them out of the lurch they have been in. The fans in Tampa should be excited about this move, and coupled with the Florida Panthers hiring of Dale Tallon, the Southeast Division could actually be competitive through and through in the next couple of seasons if they play their cards right.

The Captain, The Contract, and The Circus

This is the best thing about Lightning-- there's never a dull moment or a dry story.

According to TSN's Darren Dreger, there's a rift amongst those in the Bolts front office whether or not to keep Vincent Lecavalier in the Tampa Bay Lightning uniform. The captain of the team, tied for the team lead in goals, the franchise-- the brass doesn't know whether or not they want to keep him. I don't understand why this discussion is taking place. It's not a sane decision-- but again this is Tampa.

The thing that's going to get me-- is there a team out there willing to take on the new $85M extension he just signed this past summer and give up what could total the family farm for Lecavalier?? Sure, he's an extraordinare talent and probably worth every penny and prospect/player a team is going to give up. One team named is the Montreal Canadiens, which of course with every Francophone player out there is always the case.

But why would the Bolts want to trade their guy, a guy they wanted to lock-up for so long, for something that's probably not going to be a sure thing?? Especially when your team is just trying to find some kind of relavance in the NHL, aside from the sideshow that this ownership has made this organization. If the Bolts deal Lecavalier, regardless of what they get in return-- you may as well move the team to Kansas City or Hamilton, because they've given up all hope of succeeding anymore in Tampa.

Plus, aside from the contract length and cash involved-- which is their own stupid action to begin with if that is in fact the case-- why has Lecavalier fallen out of favor with the team?? It's not like there are many weapons for him to work off of or to help pick the team up if he and Martin St. Louis were to go into a slump; why deal a big gun when you're already hurting to score goals (28th in the NHL in goals for)?? Also, this is after the Bolts told Lecavalier's agent there is no desire to trade him.

Regardless of the outcome of this, at the end of the day-- you just have to shake your head and say, "It's Tampa, what do you expect??"

Why The Bolts Should Never Get Another First Overall Pick

With the exception of their first draft where they got the first overall pick in Roman Hamrlik back in 1992, the cases of Vincent Lecavalier and Steve Stamkos should be more than enough to give the NHL reason to never allow the Tampa Bay Lightning have another first overall pick in the Entry Draft ever again. Albeit, the Bolts management probably didn't know how to put the media behind the Hamrlik move, or else they would have done it.

It's very apropos that the Barrie-Koules contingent put out the "Seen Stamkos??" campaign, because as of right now-- not many people have. With only four goals and 14 points including a -11 on the season after 39 games, it's definitely not something that the Bolts had in mind when he came into town and they put the money out. With all the hype they put out for him this summer, for all the buzz that the Bolts had out there for him-- his production has been less than stellar.

It oddly resembles the rookie year of the other first overall pick for the Bolts, Vincent Lecavalier, who had former owner Art Williams call him "the Michael Jordan of hockey", which resulted in Lecavalier putting up only 28 points in his first season and really didn't allow him to flourish too much until '02-'03 when he started to really find his niche.

The parallels are starting to really shine through with both Stamkos and Lecavalier, at least through the first year. They were propped up to be the biggest thing in the history of Tampa's hockey history. However, with all the pressure on each of them, with all the expectation-- the youngsters aren't able to excel. Even though it's not that much of a hockey hotbed, the pressure in a market like Tampa is very high because they are looked upon to bring a true face to the area. With all that on their shoulders to carry an entire market, of course they are going to crumble in the first parts of their career if they aren't pampered and nurtured to adapt to the NHL way of life-- both on and off the ice.

The gross mismanagement of both these young stars are proof that owners really should re-evaluate how they market some of their young stars. Granted, players like Sidney Crosby can be able to withstand something like that because they've been through it their entire life; yet guys like Lecavalier, Stamkos, and others who only get the attention at the end of their careers in juniors; they're not sure how to adjust to all the attention from going under the radar and being just a face in the crowd for so long. Yet, the owners only care about profit and if they can just, I guess exploit, their young stars-- they don't care the effect it has on the player until it affects their profit.

Oddly enough, both times that the Bolts had a first overall pick, they had relatively new owners to the team and to gain a little push for them-- they had to go beyond extreme when promoting the next big thing. Both times, the adverse effect happened and they did more harm than good.

These two players should be an example to all owners-- old and new-- be careful what you do with your young talent and and how you promote them. It's a hard enough transition as it is with guys making the jump from junior to the pros (though some make it look easier than others) without the weight of a franchise on their shoulders and having to carry the team and organization in their first year, normally at the age of 18. They have enough pressure on them as it is, they don't need added, unneeded pressure off the ice, as well.