New GM to be announced TODAY per the Lightning.

[Wrong Net Paulie]

Hes on 620 now, i'll try to keep you posted.

-How hard was it to leave?
Been thinking about it for a couple of years now to run a team, very emotional, but very excited.

-Detroit was great to you, interesting being with a different club now
Love detroit, amazing fanbase, owe so much to them, I hope i'm still loved and welcomed there in the future even if i'm with the Lightning. Had to make a difficult decision to move on, to grow, to have new challenges, very thankful to Jeff Vinik for thinking so highly of him and giving him the opportunity.

-Have to build the bolts to yours/Jeffs liking, what will be the diff with this compared to say, the olympic team
Completely different process, much more restrictive, no luxury of picking a guy with the right passport - emphasis on scouting, drafting, and proper development. Speaks of Boyle/Richards/Marty/Vinny, took time for them to come together, going to give the kids the right environment to grow and be successful, and also will work with the veterans to keep them excited, hungry, committed.

-Feel good with Vinik giving you all the tools (personnel, financials) to built how you see fit?
That was my deciding factor, he is prepared to do everything that is necessary to build a championship winning organization on ice, and off ice, an organization that families and cities can be proud of.

-When looking for a coach, said you wanted to get experience, do you talk with the players or do you have someone in mind and will skip player input.
Not going to take player input on the coach, its up to myself and the staff around me to get the right guy to put in place, players are professionals and (my interpretation) will adapt to whoever is behind the bench. Wants a guy that has... said NHL but retracted... wants a guy that has head coaching experience, talking about HC's that aren't in the NHL (very interesting). Only the first day so obviously I don't have any answers yet.

-Head coach by draft?
July 1 in FA season, ideally you have a guy in place by that point, if not, not the end of the world. Hire a coach to coach the team, UFA/drafting will take his input but more front office than anything else.

-Seen bolts, seen org, seen core players, do you have confidence to build around
Small core of proven veterans, extremely talented; small core of youngsters that are incredible talents like Stamkos, Hedman, Downie, Ashton (who he seems to be high on). Key is surrounding all of them with the right people, vets and youngsters, to help push all of them properly. Wants to do things today to make the team better now, but not losing focus for the long term of being a competitive team for years to come.

-If org is committed to winning, fans will come back.
Thats understandable and already known, we need to draft, develop, and grow together as fans/organization/players, and with that foundation, we'll be a winner and those fans will return like they were in the early 2000s. Must draft well, must scout well (I love this, btw). Astute fan knows there is hope in the future right now and with the proper scouting/development, this will continue and will be a bright spot.


Quick recap from me, was trying to keep up during the interviews.

[The Great Zo]

Originally Posted by Wrong Net Paulie

-Detroit was great to you, interesting being with a different club now
Love detroit, amazing fanbase, owe so much to them, I hope i'm still loved and welcomed there in the future even if i'm with the Lightning. Had to make a difficult decision to move on, to grow, to have new challenges, very thankful to Jeff Vinik for thinking so highly of him and giving him the opportunity.

Fan reaction in comments and polls through the Detroit media has been overwhelmingly (albeit bittersweetly) positive for Yzerman to follow his dream. Actually, more so than I was anticipating.

[Sotnos]

Originally Posted by chad

That's when you hit said person with said shelf.

It's tempting sometimes.

He's always struck me as being in the same PR category as Brad Richards (sorry, Brad, but it's true), but he was a little more animated than I expected today. Yes, he definitely was nervous to begin with. 27 years from now when he's introducing a new coach and taking questions, I think you'll see much, much shorter answers. He was very accomodating in his answers. Usually the pros give you a little answer and move on.

That's exactly who I thought of too. He definitely lost the reserve once he started taking questions though, that was great. Very well spoken and a minimum of cliches.

Originally Posted by Wrong Net Paulie

I love Marty, but man, he always looks like hes a sneeze away from beating someone into the dirt.

I got that glare once at training camp (I swear I have no idea why), it's scary.

[Matt]

On 1040:

-Team isn't too far away from the playoffs but that can be said for every team. Talked again about long term patience to build a winning franchise.

-Same response about the coach: ideally to hire one before free agency.

-Leaving Detroit: Benefited from the organization as a player and in the front office, but he needed to leave to become a GM. Excited about the opportunity and everyone in Detroit has been supportive.

-Biggest weakness: Goalie. Important to have two experienced goalies like Chad posted, only Smith signed although you could count Ramo. Also they need to improve the secondary scoring to surround Vinny, Stammer, Marty, Downie.

-On Vinny: His intention is to sit down with Lecavalier at some point like the rest of the players. He's still young and has had injuries that have caused him to struggle. Need to surround him with the right players and coach so he and the rest of the team can succeed. He's an important part of the franchise and they need him to be successful.

-Why he didn't pick any of the Bolts for Olympics: It wasn't easy, they're very good players but only 23 spots. Tough to walk in to some rinks after that process.

-Hedman getting tougher: He's still a kid. It's a big adjustment to come over to NA. He's got to get stronger, but the ability is there. They need to give him time and get a good training staff so he can mature physically and reach his potential.

-Any Espo involvement: There's a role for him after all that he's accomplished. Looks forward to spending time with Phil to pick his brain.

[bassassin]

Originally Posted by Matt

-Any Espo involvement: There's a role for him after all that he's accomplished. Looks forward to spending time with Phil to pick his brain.

I like this

[Hoek]

That was going to be my question. Yzerman needs some experience around him. Espo would be good for that role. Scotty too of course, but that's wishful thinking. Anyway I hope they take that kind of consideration seriously. Sure he's ready in many ways, but this is his first real GM job, one that involves drafting and trading, not just picking who you want.

I'm excited anyhow. Hextall would have been good, too. I'm just glad it wasn't a proven failure like Risebrough or McGuire.

Originally Posted by Matt

On 1040:

-
-Biggest weakness: Goalie. Important to have two experienced goalies like Chad posted, only Smith signed although you could count Ramo.

If this is our biggest weakness and they were at one time part of the problem, you don't go with the status quo.

[chad]

Thanks WNP, Matt.

[Sotnos]

Originally Posted by chad

Thanks WNP, Matt.

Seconded, missed a lot of the Duemig interview, so nice to have folks listening to all different sources & helping us out.

So many guests on here, thought we'd get a few signups.

[CTLightning26]

Originally Posted by Hoek

That was going to be my question. Yzerman needs some experience around him. Espo would be good for that role. .

That was my highlight of the press conference....He was humble...He said he's going to have to learn along the way....He will listen to advice from guys like Espo and Andy, and others...

The guy in that office before him thought he was god's gift to hockey and knew everything...in his mind