Bob Duff: Yzerman as GM a terrible idea The word that Steve Yzerman was stepping down as GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning had barely been announced when the Hockeytown hyperbole ramped up into a frenzy. Stevie Y is coming home.

Bob Duff: Yzerman as GM a terrible idea
The word that Steve Yzerman was stepping down as GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning had barely been announced when the Hockeytown hyperbole ramped up into a frenzy. Stevie Y is coming home.
- BobDuff

I think this is a different case and Yzerman is a proven executive who the Wings would benefit from having on staff.

Bob Duff: Yzerman as GM a terrible idea
The word that Steve Yzerman was stepping down as GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning had barely been announced when the Hockeytown hyperbole ramped up into a frenzy. Stevie Y is coming home.
- BobDuff

Good stuff, Duff!

Bad idea if they're doing it because he's an ex-wings legend, good idea if they're hiring him because he's proven to be a talented NHL exec. With his resume I think he would come in only under the right circumstances with full control over all decisions etc., anything else would probably be a disaster.

Yeah but Holland was once heralded a Genius and loved by the Wings fans...hockey is cyclical, every team has its rise peak and eventual fall. This will happen to Stevie Y eventually too, and a whole generation of halfwit kids will only know Yzerman for whatever failures he might have.

It’s no different in Edmonton. The former player that an absolute Warrior for 5 Stanley cup wins and architect of the team that was 1 game away from winning the Cup was hated by the stupid half of the fan base only 3 years later.

Totally disagree with this article and its writer. First Stevie Y is a brilliant GM and made his name in Tampa, the RedWings want the Next 10-20years to be like the 90s-00s right? And not like the 2010s when Redwings have been irrelevant. Well you welcome him back with open arms.

And as far as "Legends" never working because they cant analyze talent r whatever reason, not fully true.

Magic Johnson the VP/GM of Lakers- You think Lebron is going to LA if Magic isnt running the show? No he aint.

Broncos/John Elway- while hes struggled to find a franchise Qb, he built a great defense and got Peyton to come in to deliver a SB under his GMShip.

Ozzie Newsome probably the most famous. Hof TE for Browns& hof GM for the (old Browns) Ravens drafting HOFrs john Ogden, Ray lewis, Ed Reed, Suggs and delivered 2 SBs..

So great players can be great GMs and come back

Totally disagree with this article and its writer. First Stevie Y is a brilliant GM and made his name in Tampa, the RedWings want the Next 10-20years to be like the 90s-00s right? And not like the 2010s when Redwings have been irrelevant. Well you welcome him back with open arms.

And as far as "Legends" never working because they cant analyze talent r whatever reason, not fully true.

Magic Johnson the VP/GM of Lakers- You think Lebron is going to LA if Magic isnt running the show? No he aint.

Broncos/John Elway- while hes struggled to find a franchise Qb, he built a great defense and got Peyton to come in to deliver a SB under his GMShip.

Ozzie Newsome probably the most famous. Hof TE for Browns& hof GM for the (old Browns) Ravens drafting HOFrs john Ogden, Ray lewis, Ed Reed, Suggs and delivered 2 SBs..

So great players can be great GMs and come back
- Hockey4Lyfe86

There’s no guarantee he will turn the Wings around...what he’s talking about is his Legacy. It’s perfect as it is with the Wings. Fans will turn on Stevie if he doesn’t get the results as soon as the fans want it.

There’s no guarantee he will turn the Wings around...what he’s talking about is his Legacy. It’s perfect as it is with the Wings. Fans will turn on Stevie if he doesn’t get the results as soon as the fans want it.
- HonkyTonkMan

If Yzerman is an alpha then he’ll take the job and not give a poop about “hurting his legacy” in Detroit

Guys like Yzerman take calculated risks. They also don’t back down when they think they can achieve something. I agree with some of the comments that his resume speaks for itself and that he would do fine as long as they let him do things his way.

I didn’t care for the article because it told one side of a story while completely ignoring the other. Imagine if the judicial system worked out that way.

I’m sure everyone is predicting a long rebuild, but honestly if Stevie Y could entice some of next years free agents (there are a ton including Bobrovsky, Varlamov, Brassard, Panarin, etc) along with another top pick in this years draft (possibly the top pick) then a ton could change from this season to next. The biggest problem with this team are the bad contracts given out by Holland IMO

Your approach to this topic is rather unscientific and dogmatic. Yes, most great players (Babe Ruth for one) did not kick ass in management. And the list exploded from there. So you made that case while missing the key point.

And that is that Yzerman has done rather well in Tampa Bay. I wish he were coming to Edmonton. But Detroit could use him in their rebuild. A couple years with high drafts, plus a superb colony of scouts who know what to look for, and a key trade or two (Oh, Mr. Bergevin, would you have any interest in Drouin by chance? Oh, you do. OK, I know he's unproven but we will accept that Sergachev person, or whatever his name was who played in Windsor, I think.) And Detroit doesn't need that person as GM, you say.

Edmonton does.

Click bait. For shame.

you nailed it this article is comical. Steve Yzerman has built a dynasty in the making in TB, Detroit would be lucky to have him and if the owners are smart, they'll throw millions at him when Holland's contract expires. Motown could use a shot of adrenaline, Stevie Y is that

Its not like this is his first job right after retiring. He has built one of the best teams in the entire NHL and wants to go home. The Wings better hope he wants to come back to work for them. Holland was a great GM for many years but the game has changed and he hasn't. He hung on to vets for way too long and signed guys that were already past their prime. That worked in the 2000's but not now. He is a proven winner and if I were a Wings fan I would be begging for a change in the front office to bring a winning team back to Hockeytown.

"Look at all these other guys who went straight from playing to coaching or managing their former teammates with no experience whatsoever and failed in their new role. How can we expect Steve Yzerman, a man who retired 12 years ago, has been one of the best executives in hockey for nearly a decade already, built a perennial contender almost from scratch, and put together two Olympic gold medal rosters do any better?"

-Bob Duff

The comments above me are spot on... the time #19's special-advisor contract with TBL will finish next year, i'm pretty sure Holland will not sleep too well.

"Look at all these other guys who went straight from playing to coaching or managing their former teammates with no experience whatsoever and failed in their new role. How can we expect Steve Yzerman, a man who retired 12 years ago, has been one of the best executives in hockey for nearly a decade already, built a perennial contender almost from scratch, and put together two Olympic gold medal rosters do any better?"

-Bob Duff
- Sven22

I totally agree though inheriting Stamkos, Hedman and St.Louis could hardly be considered ‘started from scratch.’

I totally agree though inheriting Stamkos, Hedman and St.Louis could hardly be considered ‘started from scratch.’
- HonkyTonkMan

Granted.

"Steve Yzerman would risk tarnishing his reputation with Red Wings fans forever if he took over the GM job and failed. Just look at Alex Delvecchio and Ted Lindsay. Shame they ruined their entire reputations as Red Wings; they were bad coaches and now Detroit fans can only see them as complete failures."

-Bob Duff

I disagree. Yzerman was successful in Tampa as the GM, there is no reason to believe he would just magically suck at being a GM because he took over Detroit. There is a difference between a player becoming a coach and a GM. Being a player does not make you a good communicator or a good teacher which is why some player coaches like Gretzky fail.

Yzerman has shown he has the ability to be an NHL GM. Whatever team it is for doesnt matter. All that changes is how long it will take to turn it around.

Pay no attention to Bob Duff. He's bottom of the barrel.

Figures when Duff actually his an original idea that it's awful. Stick to copying and pasting stuff from mLive Duff.

Wait, but he is a proven gm... Bringing Datsyuk on as GM is a bad idea. Bringing Datsyuk on as GM after he built a perennial contender in another city as GM is a great idea.

One other thing about Yzerman's move.

Julien BriseBois has been working under Yzerman for 8 years, built perennial AHL contenders in Syracuse, and is only 41. He's been considered a top candidate for his own GM job somewhere for a while now. If Yzerman's whole heart wasn't in the Tampa gig, making room for BriseBois now so they don't lose him later is probably good news for the long-term health of the Lightning organization. I expect they'll continue to be successful for a long time.

It stands in stark contrast to a certain Kenneth Mark Holland, whose grasp of the modern game crumbled even as he continued to block the path upward for worthy successors like Yzerman and Jim Nill.

#Retire91

Look at this guy, hot takes Duff over here!

Go to hell with that logic, Duff. You’re wrong and need to stop writing as many have been saying since you started here, and in Gertner’s case, before that.

The Captain must herald the next group of Wings. It is foretold by the Old Testement. Or something like that.