Yzerman Hiring Means the Tampa Bay Lightning Are Here To Stay

With the signing of Steve Yzerman as general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team can now be officially taken off the list of the NHL's endangered franchises.

The signing of Yzerman comes three and a half months after the team was sold to Boston investment banker, Jeff Vinik, on Feb. 5, 2010.

Vinik's purchase came as a relief to both the NHL and the Lightning's fans because it ended a period of squabbling ownership which damaged the credibility of the team in Tampa Bay and led to a marked decline of the team's performance on the ice.

Many Canadian fans, eager to see an American money-losing franchise shift north had Tampa Bay high on their lists as a franchise to be moved.

One of Vinik's first moves in the offseason was to fire general manager Brian Lawton and head coach Rick Tocchet.

The hiring of Yzerman was seen as a quick act of damage control.  Yzerman was ranked high on the NHL's list to become a general manager, especially after his successful management of Canada's 2010 Olympic gold medal hockey team.

Yzerman, a lifelong Detroit Red Wing, had no executive future with the team which did not want to shake up its own successful hockey operation.  Reluctantly, Detroit was forced to watch Yzerman take his general manager ambitions elsewhere.

But the purchase by Vinik and the hiring of Yzerman mean the same thing: Both men believe in the long-term future of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Lightning had built up a successful following, especially after the team won its only Stanley Cup in 2004.

But consolidating that success was hurt, first by 2004-05 NHL lockout, and then by the period of squabbling ownership.

Both Vinik and Yzerman believe that the Stanley Cup success on and off the ice can be revived.

They still have most of the nucleus of that team remaining, most notably Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis.

New star players are Victor Hedman and Steve Stamkos, and the prospect of another high choice in the coming NHL draft.

The most glaring holes to fill immediately are a credible head coach, and a competent goalie, something that has been lacking when Nikolai Khabibulin was allowed to depart.

With those key positions filled, it's quite conceivable that the Lightning will return to the contending ranks quickly and also repair the damage done off the ice.

The NHL is sighing with relief that the Lightning controversy is now a thing of the past.