Montreal needed a centre (which Drouin hadn’t played since junior) and for all of Tampa Bay’s strengths, it lacked the same kind of star-upside prospect blueliner that it had up front. This kept his trade value high, and provided Yzerman with an opportunity to strike in the summer. This could have gone sideways, but the Lightning welcomed Drouin back the following season and he promptly scored 53 points in 73 NHL games. When he wasn’t traded by the deadline, Drouin returned but the die had been cast. In January of 2016, Drouin refused to report to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, prompting the Lighting to suspend 2013’s third-overall pick. To Tampa Bay: Mikhail Sergachev, conditional draft pick To Montreal: Jonathan Drouin, conditional draft pick

Callahan is still with the team, providing the leadership and penalty-killing. The first-round pick was moved at the draft for a second and a third, which Yzerman used to take Mitchell Stephens and Anthony Cirelli, both of whom figure to have an impact in coming years.

Yzerman was able to work out a deal with the New York Rangers and the two contenders swapped captains, with the Lightning picking up valuable draft picks on top. Louis had won the Art Ross Trophy in 2013 and was still scoring at a point-per-game pace. Months after he was left off the Canadian Olympic team, which was headed by Yzerman, St. To Tampa Bay: First-round pick, second-round pick, Ryan Callahan Here is a look at all the elements around how Yzerman rebuilt the Tampa Bay Lightning into one of the most sustainable and formidable teams in the NHL today. It was from this period on that the foundation for a powerhouse was laid. Tampa Bay bounced all the way back to the conference final, but missed the playoffs completely in 2012 and the lockout-shortened 2013. 1, and then bringing in Eric Brewer around the trade deadline to lead the team in minutes. Over the next season Yzerman made two especially impactful trades, acquiring Dwayne Roloson to become the starter on Jan. Still, a team as strong as this isn’t put together with only two solid players - Yzerman built up an entire organization.įor reference, here is a look at Tampa Bay’s scoring leaders when Yzerman took over (points accumulated while members of the Lightning): PLAYER When Yzerman first took over, he assumed control of a team that had missed the playoffs three seasons in a row, but had recent draft picks Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman as cornerstones for the future.

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