The Tampa Bay Lightning recently put the finishing touches on their second straight Stanley Cup win, and though he’s no longer a part of their franchise, Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman is largely responsible for assembling their championship squads.
Yzerman took the job of Lightning GM in 2010, and helped transform the franchise into a yearly contender. Under his leadership, the Lightning drafted the likes of Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat, as well as finding undrafted diamonds in the rough like Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde.
And his decision to draft Brayden Point in 2014 has paid massive dividends, as he’s developed into one of the games’s most clutch and valuable players.
Yzerman, who hired coach Jon Cooper, also laid the foundation for long-term success, locking up stars like Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman to long-term contracts, as well as acquiring franchise goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy 19th overall in 2012 (from a pick obtained from the Red Wings for Kyle Quincey).
Not surprisingly, fans chose Yzerman as the GM they’d most like to see run their NHL club according to a recent survey from The Athletic:
