Tampa Bay Lightning: Why Steve Yzerman might be overrated

Where has he gone wrong?

Yzerman can fleece fellow general managers in trades all day long, and he can continue to add to his pedigree of finding excellent draft steals, but one thing is certain: he makes crucial mistakes once his team becomes contenders.

He has been able to sign all-star players to team-friendly deals, just look at Stamkos and Kucherov’s deals to see that. But there’s no doubt that Yzerman has also screwed the pooch when it comes to players who have been good, not great, for the team. It also doesn’t help that he added no-trade clauses to a bunch of different player’s deals.

Johnson, Palat, Alex Killorn, and Yanni Gourde are all current examples of overpaid players on the roster. Ryan Callahan and Matthew Carle are other examples who have since moved on from the Lightning that were overpaid while in Tampa.

Johnson is signed to a $5 million contract that concludes at the end of the 2023-24 season and features a full no-trade clause. Even if the Lightning wanted to create cap room, despite clearly being paid more than what he can bring to the table, actually moving him is a very difficult task.

Palat is signed to a $5.3 million deal that brings him to the conclusion of the 2021-22 season with a full no-trade clause. Despite having a much improved season this year, Palat’s cap hit is still a bit much, but again, Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois can’t do much in the way of moving Palat because of the NTC that’s featured on his deal.

Killorn is signed to a $4.45 million deal that brings him to the conclusion of the 2022-23 season and features a full no-trade clause. He is having an excellent season this year and has slowly become a fan favorite. I’ve always believed Killorn has been wrongfully scrutinized due to what many thought to be an overpayment at the time.

Though he has turned it around, it’s the term that scares me. It’s hard for me to see Killorn recording three more 20+ goal seasons like the one he is having right now, and that contract could be scrutinized once again down the road. But, again, the full no-trade clause makes him near-impossible to move.

Finally, Gourde is signed to a $5.166 million deal that takes him to the end of the 2024-25 season with a full no-trade clause. Gourde has been reduced to a bottom-six role with the Lightning this season, and he is 28 years old, meaning his contract ends in his age 32 season. That’s a really bad look for the Lightning.

Miller, who was very effective for the Lightning, and is having a ridiculous year in Vancouver, was the odd-man-out in Tampa because he had a similar cap hit, but did not have a no-trade clause. Had it not been for Yzerman’s poor negotiating with these players, maybe Miller would have stuck around and played a bigger role than that of Gourde or been more effective this season in a similar role as Palat, Johnson, or Killorn.

I believe Yzerman knew what he was doing when he left Tampa Bay. For one, he recognized the total anarchy the Lightning would face in a short while, as Point was due for a new deal last offseason. So are Cirelli, Cernak, and Mikhail Sergachev at the end of this season.

He also knew an opening was sure to be available with Detroit, where he played in his storied NHL career, and that they are in dire need of a rebuild. So, why not go to an organization that you love and do what you do best as a GM? It’ll mask Yzerman’s flaws for another few years before he can call it quits altogether.

Yzerman is an incredible GM, there’s no doubt about that. The issue is, I don’t believe he is good at sustaining a competitive roster based on some of the boneheaded decisions he has made at times throughout his tenure as the Lightning general manager. Here’s to hoping BriseBois is able to work his way around these obstacles and retain Cirelli, Cernak, and Sergachev this offseason.