Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman was named the NHL’s “GM of the Year… at last night’s awards event. He was the runaway winner among a list of finalists that included Anaheim’s Bob Murray and New York’s Glen Sather. He received nine first place votes, 10 second place votes, and five third place votes.
While the award was given to Yzerman for his work during 2014-15, it is truly a reflection of everything he has done since taking over the team back in 2010. He turned a bottom-feeding group with bare cupboards into a Stanley Cup-contending team. It’s been a five-year process for Yzerman, one that nearly saw his team take hockey’s biggest prize this spring.
Congratulations to Steve Yzerman! The honor is a well-deserved one.
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The Lightning also released their 2015-16 regular season schedule today. The year will begin on home ice at Amalie Arena on October 8th with the Philadelphia Flyers in town. Here are some highlights, courtesy of the team’s press release:
• February and March are the Lightning’s busiest months with 14 games each • Tampa Bay’s final 10 games will be played against teams from Eastern Conference • Five of the Lightning’s first six games will come against teams that failed to make the playoffs in 2014-15 • The Bolts will have completed 27 percent of their road schedule by November 7 • Tampa Bay will play 15 of their final 25 games away from Amalie Arena • The Lightning will play 26 home games between November 10 and February 18, 63 percent of their home schedule • The Bolts will play seven of their 11 games during the month of January against teams from the Western Conference
Not mentioned there are the team’s games against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Stanley Cup Final ‘rematch’ contests will take place on October 24th at the United Center and January 21st at Amalie Arena. Which games do you have circled on your calendar? Let me know in the comments section.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.