Hiring Yzerman would be a coup for Bolts

Why Stevie Y?

Y not?

On a slow, hot news day, between Phillies Taser videos and Carl Crawford clarifications, what's better than dreaming Hall of Fame dreams in the Tampa Bay Lightning's seemingly eternal search for a new brain trust. You know, at least until Vinny shows us the baby pictures.

The rumor -- not denied on either end -- is that the Bolts, in pursuit of a general manager, have asked Detroit for permission to speak with Red Wings great and team vice president Steve Yzerman.

Why wouldn't you want to talk to this man?

What a coup it would be.

Besides the initial jump start of not being Brian Lawton, Yzerman was central architect of Canada's gold-medal hockey team at the Vancouver Olympics. And for more than a quarter century, he has been a pillar of a franchise that is among the best run in sports.

Whether that translates into him being a great GM, I'm not sure. Even though it worked out with that gold medal, I still can't understand why Yzerman left Marty St. Louis off that Canadian team. But where has Steve Yzerman ever truly failed in this game?

I'm fairly skeptical of the idea of Yzerman leaving Michigan, even in the name of Steven Stamkos. Yzerman is one of the six or seven icons in Detroit sports history. Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch pays his people well. It's hard to believe Yzerman lathering up with sunscreen to turn the Lightning around.

But if you connect some dots, it's easy to see why Yzerman might be tempted. He recently said as much to ESPN, saying he wants to be a GM but would probably have to go somewhere else to be one.

Current Red Wings general manager Ken Holland apparently will get a contract extension after the season, which might come any day now that the San Jose Sharks lead the Wings 3-0 in their playoff series.

I've always loved how the Wings have built their teams, through drafts and trades and relentless scouting. They always seem to find the right guy or two.

Yzerman was always one of the right guys, one of the good guys, too. He was a star just about the moment Detroit drafted him fourth overall in 1983. The No. 1 overall pick? Brian Lawton.

Anyone out there have a seal horn they can honk?

Steve Yzerman finished his career with 692 goals, 1,755 points and those three Stanley Cups hoisted. He was the team captain in Detroit for two decades. Two decades. Think about that.

And think about this: Yzerman, a scoring machine when he began in the NHL, changed his game in mid-career to become a champion.

He initially bristled under the thumb of Scotty Bowman, just as Vinny Lecavalier did under John Tortorella (well, not exactly), but became a two-way leader under Bowman. It paid off with those Cups. Yzerman has always found a way to make himself better, his team better.

True, he has never been a GM, a slight concern since Lawton was a rookie, and look what happened. But these two men are frozen apples and oranges. Lawton was an agent before he was a GM. Yzerman was in and around a well-oiled franchise. Plus Yzerman is one of those grounded guys you always hear about in hockey, while Lawton always acted like the smartest guy in the room.

New Bolts owner Jeff Vinik has stated more than once that money will not be an object in building a "world-class" organization with world-class people running it. Yzerman would be a costly hire, but it's worth trying to gauge his interest.

Y not?