The future of the Tampa Bay Lightning was in question all season long. The idea of Steven Stamkos leaving town drew more speculation perhaps than any free agent ever. Jonathan Drouin, the team's best prospect, wanted out. Their impending salary-cap doom lurked in the distance. And yet, on the road to next season, the Lightning remain firmly intact, all because of Steve Yzerman.
Much like his Hall of Fame career as a player, Yzerman's stoic approach as a general manager has translated into booming success.
Yzerman has built a perennial contender in Tampa Bay, a group so tightly knit and driven for a Stanley Cup that the team's two most important players - Stamkos and Victor Hedman - chose to stay at incredible discounts, rather than raking in piles of money on the open market.
Drouin, who as a 21-year-old pushed and pushed for a midseason trade, flourished in the postseason. He revitalized his image and proved his worth to his teammates with 14 points in 17 games, because Yzerman wouldn't budge.
By retaining Stamkos for $8.5 million per year, the bar was set for his teammates, with Hedman following suit by agreeing to take $7.875 million starting in 2017.
Now, with two deep playoff runs behind them and surely another one in sight, Yzerman's kept the band together. There's still work to be done, like finding a contract for dynamic scorer Nikita Kucherov, who's a restricted free agent. The GM's confident a deal will get done soon and, based on his work this offseason, he should be.
