Yzerman’s 5 best moves as Lightning GM

Steve Yzerman is out as general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The executive stepped down from his post on Tuesday after an eight-year run in order to spend more time with his family.

Over his tenure, the first-time GM remade the Lightning into a Stanley Cup contender, built out of keen draft choices, clever contracts, and a handful of major trades. While the top job in Tampa Bay now belongs to Julien BriseBois, it's not too soon to look back at the best moves made over Yzerman's time:

Dealing with Drouin

In January 2016, disgruntled forward and 2013 third-overall pick Jonathan Drouin revealed he'd requested a trade, citing frustration with a lack of playing time and the organization. But Yzerman refused to bow to public pressure, as Drouin was later demoted to the minors and subsequently suspended after failing to report.

Drouin eventually suited up for the AHL squad and was later recalled to the Lightning towards the end of the season. In the playoffs, he was one of Tampa Bay's top scorers, posting 14 points in 17 games. However, it wasn't enough to keep Drouin in Tampa Bay long-term. A deal finally materialized in June 2017, with the Lightning shipping Drouin to the Montreal Canadiens for young blue-liner Mikhail Sergachev.

Sergachev has particularly impressed in the early goings of his career. The 20-year-old wrapped up his rookie campaign with the Lightning in 2017-18, notching 40 points to finish second among freshmen defenders.

Signing Stamkos

Much like this offseason's John Tavares sweepstakes, Steven Stamkos experienced a similar showcase two summers ago. Despite big-time interest from heavy hitters like his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs, Stamkos re-signed with the Lightning.

Not only did he stay in the fold for eight more years, Yzerman was also insistent on Stamkos agreeing to a more affordable salary structure, leaving more cap dollars for the GM to maneuver.

Stamkos is the face of the Lightning, and with a bout of injury challenges now behind him, he's poised to lead the team to its first championship in more than a decade. The Lightning captain finished with 86 points last season, good for 12th league-wide. Stamkos needs just 35 goals in 2018-19 to leapfrog Vincent Lecavalier for first all-time in franchise goals.

Drafting Kucherov

The Russian factor evidently wasn't a consideration at the draft tables for Yzerman, as the Lightning called Nikita Kucherov's name with the 58th pick in the 2011 draft.

Kucherov was dominant in his draft year, finishing with 58 points in 41 games with Krasnaya Armiya Moskva, a KHL junior league club. He then exploded at the under-18s, leading the Russian squad with 21 points in just seven games.

It didn't take long for Kucherov to translate that success to the Lightning. The Russian sniper has seen his production climb across five seasons with Tampa. He notched a career-high 40 goals in 2016-17 and followed that up with a 100-point campaign last season. The 25-year-old recently inked a big-money deal that will pay $9.5 million per season beginning in 2019-20. But in the meantime, he'll continue to outperform the steal of a deal - a $4.8-million ticket - that Yzerman inked him to in 2016.

The Hedman contract

Imagine having the reigning Norris Trophy winner under contract for the next seven seasons for less than $8 million a year. Of course, it's not a dream for the Lightning, after Yzerman inked star blue-liner Victor Hedman to an eight-year, $63-million pact in July 2016.

While the salary cap has since increased, the Swedish defenseman will enter the coming campaign outside of the NHL's three highest-paid blue-liners, while only taking home a shade more than the likes of Shea Weber, Dustin Byfuglien, Ryan Suter, and Aaron Ekblad.

Hedman has emerged as a reliable, dominant defenseman, regularly finishing in the upper echelon in ice time. While his effectiveness is never in question, Yzerman also took the extra strep to enhance his game further, building up his blue line and surrounding Hedman with other top minute munchers like Ryan McDonagh and Anton Stralman.

Bringing in Bishop

The net in Tampa Bay now belongs to Andrei Vasilevskiy, but it wasn't that long ago when the Lightning went through a carousel of netminders. Lightning fans will recall the likes of Dwayne Roloson, Mathieu Garon, and Mike Smith manning the Bolts' crease.

But at the 2013 trade deadline, Yzerman pulled off an intriguing deal with the Ottawa Senators, parting with forward Cory Conacher, who put up 24 points in 35 games in his first season with the Lightning, for goaltender Ben Bishop. Conacher's scoring touch didn't keep up in Ottawa, as he later bounced to two other teams and had several stints in the minors - interestingly enough, Conacher is now back with the Lightning on a two-way deal.

As for Bishop, he solidified the Lightning between the pipes and offered the most consistent presence in Tampa Bay's crease since the days of Nikolai Khabibulin. Bishop went on to spend four more seasons with the Lightning, becoming a two-time Vezina Trophy finalist who guided the team to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final. Though since departed, Bishop still ranks first in franchise wins.

Honorable mention - Inking undrafted free agents

While not nearly as remarkable as the five major moves outlined above, it's still worth acknowledging that Yzerman went beyond the more traditional avenues of trades and free agency to acquire assets.

The former Lightning GM was especially active when it came to recruiting undrafted free agents, kicking things off in March 2011 with the signing of Tyler Johnson, who had been passed over after attending camps for two other teams. With the Lightning, Johnson has developed into an effective No. 2 pivot whose 72 points tied Stamkos for the team lead just four seasons ago.

But the signings didn't stop there. There's also Yanni Gourde, who agreed to terms in March 2014 and became a full-time player with the Lightning this past season. Gourde appeared in all 82 games, posting 64 points and even picked up a few votes in the Calder Trophy race. New GM BriseBois hopes Yzerman left him one more gift in Alex Barre-Boulet, a 21-year-old who led the QMJHL in scoring with 116 points last season. In March, Barre-Boulet signed with the Lightning as an undrafted free agent.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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