In a somewhat surprising announcement, former Detroit Red Wings captain and icon Steve Yzerman was introduced as the new General Manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning. It is not surprising that the Lightning felt he was qualified, but that he chose to accept the position; Yzerman had been non-committal with regard to the speculation surrounding Tampa Bay?s interest in him, and no one was sure he would be willing to relocate nearly 1200 miles. For 27 years ?Stevie Y? had called Detroit home. He was drafted 4th overall in 1983, and poured in 87 points in 80 games that year as a rookie. He was named captain in 1986 at the age of 21, and donned that letter for the winged-wheel until he retired following the 2005-06 season. In between, he garnered five individual trophies, 10 All-Star games, three Stanley Cup Championships, 692 goals and 1755 points. More than the numbers he put up, Yzerman the player is best remembered for his professionalism, class, leadership by example, dedication to the game of hockey, dedication to his country, generosity, determination, drive, work ethic and ability to adapt (as his health and skill eroded him). Those qualities are what made his transition into a front office role so smooth, and what made Lightning owner Jeff Vinik believe Yzerman was the best man for his franchise. Since retiring in 2006, the Hall of Famer has been serving as Detroit's Vice President of Operations, working alongside GM Ken Holland ? who many believe to be the best GM in the league. Many believed, initially, that Holland would groom Yzerman to be his successor. However, with recent news of Holland and his assistant Jim Nill working on contract extensions, it became evident that Yzerman would have to look outside of Detroit ? the only organization he?s ever been with ? to fulfill his dream of becoming a GM himself. Along with his tutelage in Detroit, Yzerman has served three terms as GM internationally for Canada. He put together Canada?s gold medal team in 2007 and silver medal team in 2008 at the IIHF World Championships. And in 2008, he was ?promoted? to take over as GM for Canada?s 2010 Olympic team. With the Games being held on their homeland, this was perhaps the most demanding, pressure-packed position in all of sports. After the roster was announced at the end of 2009, Yzerman?s roster decisions were unveiled for the tens of millions of armchair GMs to nitpick and analyze. As we all know, Canada won gold in overtime on home ice and Yzerman was rightfully rewarded for his decision making and officially became the hottest GM prospect in the game. After 27 years, you would think people would learn not to doubt his abilities. The team he is taking over has some real nice pieces in place, but also a lot of question marks. Ownership issues are in the past, and the next step for Yzerman will be hiring a head coach, and having the ability to hire his own guy should end the coaching carousel that the Lightning bench has been lately; Tampa has had three coaches in their last two seasons. Hiring a young coach would be Yzerman?s best bet, considering that he is 45 and Vinik 46-years-old, it would help to establish a backbone that can build and grow with the team going forward. While it is too early to for any names to be linked to the open bench job, it wouldn?t be surprising to see Red Wings? assistant coaches Paul McLean (52, 8 seasons as an assistant with Anaheim and Detroit) and Brad McCrimmon (51, 11 years as an assistant with NY Islanders, Atlanta and Detroit, 2 years head coaching in the WHL, Yzerman?s former teammate) get interviews. On the ice, he has two star veterans in Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, both of whom were left off of Yzerman?s Olympic roster and are the only two remaining players from their 2004 Stanley Cup Champion team. There have been many whispers that the 34-year-old St. Louis ? 1 year, $5.25M cap hit ? would prefer to be traded to a contender. If that is indeed the case, St. Louis (6th in the league with 94 points this year) could surely net Tampa a couple of solid assets, whether they be draft picks and/or prospects to help the Lightning in building their franchise from the ground up. Lecavalier, the team?s captain, will be a more interesting scenario this summer. He won?t be difficult to deal, as he is signed until 2019-20 with a $7.73M cap hit every year. But at the end of this season, he indicated that he wants to stay in Tampa and be a part of the team?s rebuilding process and help to lead the club back into playoff contention. Thus, Yzerman could approach Vinny and tell him that he will remain captain and that he needs to be a leader for this franchise through its rebuilding process. Two players will most definitely not be traded: 2008 1st overall pick and 51-goal scorer Steve Stamkos and 2009 2nd overall pick, defenseman Victor Hedman. The world now knows about Stamkos and his offensive prowess, and one of Yzerman?s tasks this summer has to be inking Stamkos to a long-term extension as he approaches the final season of his rookie contract. And while Hedman didn?t light the league on fire, the 6?6? beast showed great strides as he learned about life in a new country, and played in North America for the first time. Tampa only has two other forwards under contract next season: Ryan Malone and Todd Fedoruk. They have four restricted free agents, but only one of whom made a solid impression and should be resigned, and that is Steve Downie. They have five men inked on the blue-line next year with Paul Ranger due to be resigned as an RFA, so that is not a major concern. In goal, Mike Smith is entering the final year of his contract and it remains to be seen whether he will be an undisputed #1 goalie in this league. So with holes to fill up front and decisions to make about goaltending, Yzerman will have a lot of wiggle room with around $18mil in salary cap space. It?s unlikely that he tries to make a splash for a veteran free agent, but try and build a young nucleus. Look for him to put out offer sheets to unsigned RFA?s like Bobby Ryan of Anaheim, and if he doesn?t net one this summer, he can look to fill the void via trade or the following offseason. He also enters his first offseason with the 6th overall pick, and he faces a tough task there as there seems to be a consensus only among the top-4 players in the draft. Would he dangle St. Louis with an asset to trade up to the #2 slot since Boston desperately needs scoring from the wing? It?s an interesting option, one of many that Yzerman has waiting for him in St. Petersburg. And with Vinik committing 5 years to Yzerman, it is a sign of positive days ahead for a Tampa franchise that desperately needs them. Nick can be reached via email nickobergan@hotmail.com or on twitter http://twitter.com/nickobergan