Lightning expect smooth transition from Yzerman to BriseBois

Two days before the start of training camp, Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik sat on a podium inside the media room at AMALIE Arena, Steve Yzerman and Julien BriseBois to his right.
Vinik spoke about how during his eight years as Lightning owner, he's had the opportunity to make four major hiring decisions. His first was bringing Tod Leiweke aboard as CEO of the Bolts followed shortly after by naming Yzerman the team's general manager. Three years ago when Leiweke decided to leave the organization, Steve Griggs took over as CEO, a "no-brainer decision" Vinik said.
On Tuesday, Vinik made his fourth important hire, announcing BriseBois will become the seventh general manager in team history. Yzerman will step down as GM following eight years at the helm and move into a new role as senior advisor to BriseBois.

For eight years, BriseBois served as assistant GM and Yzerman's right-hand man.
Now, it's Yzerman's turn to assist BriseBois.

"He is more than ready and deserves the opportunity," Yzerman said.
The common thread among all four major hires, Vinik said, was 100 percent confidence in the decisions.
"Julien BriseBois is the right candidate and the right person to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning," Vinik said. "Julien is extremely well rounded, very smart, very experienced, far more experienced in management than Steve was when he took over the position eight, nine years ago. Julien's been with the Lightning eight years and was with Montreal for nine years before that, 17 years. We are so fortunate that another team in the league hasn't taken him before this point."
BriseBois has a long history in NHL hockey operations, getting his first job as director of legal affairs for the Montreal Canadiens at just 24 years old. Two years later, he added director of hockey operations to his title, and in 2006, was named vice president of hockey operations, overseeing the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Canadiens' AHL affiliate. In BriseBois' first season, Hamilton won the 2007 Calder Cup. After that championship, BriseBois was promoted to Hamilton's GM, making him the youngest GM in the AHL at the time.
In 2010, Yzerman, having just taking over as Lightning GM, tabbed BriseBois as his assistant GM. Over the next eight years, he's worked hand-in-hand with Yzerman on the Lightning front while also serving as GM of Tampa Bay's minor league affiliates in first Norfok and presently Syracuse. BriseBois' minor league teams have reached the Calder Cup finals five times, winning in Norfolk with head coach Jon Cooper in 2012 as well as the aforementioned title with Hamilton.
"If Steve Yzerman gave me my first chance in the NHL, Julien BriseBois gave me my first crack at pro," Cooper said. "He was the guy that found me in Green Bay somehow and we went through the interview process and he believed enough in me to hire me. That's a pretty big leap of faith for somebody that didn't have any pro experience…People say Jon Cooper coached that team, Julien BriseBois built that team."
"Julien knows all facets of the business," Vinik added. "He and Steve have worked right next to each other, picking players, working on contracts, free agency, doing trades together, working on the salary cap, understanding that, all aspects of the game…He is 100 percent fully prepared for this opportunity and I have no doubt he's going to do a terrific job."
The GM transition is expected to be a smooth one, aided by the fact Yzerman will remain in the front office to guide BriseBois in his new role. Yzerman said he made his decision to step aside in late July and wanted to announce his intentions two days before training camp to get it out of the way and focus on the season. As far as the Lightning are concerned, when training camp opens Thursday at AMALIE Arena, it will be business as usual.
"A lot of things are staying the same, I guess other than our titles," BriseBois said.
Yzerman said the pull of his family - his wife lives in Michigan, he has three daughters in college currently - combined with the demands of the position made him rethink his situation and seek a change.
"With some time to reflect, to do the job the way it needs to be done, the way I feel it needs to be done, and to ultimately be with my family as well, it's becoming difficult to do, hence the decision," he said.
Yzerman has one more year left on his contract with the Lightning. After the 2018-19 season, he will make a decision whether he wants to remain in his new role, remain in the organization or leave.

"Steve and I have discussed this. He wants to try it out for the year," BriseBois said. "I would love for him to stay beyond one season. At the end of the year, we'll sit down and if he enjoyed his new role, then obviously I would be more than happy if he were to stay on board with us."
In eight seasons as Lightning GM, Yzerman guided the Bolts to four Eastern Conference Finals, including three of the last four, and a Stanley Cup Final in 2015.
"I'm proud of what we were able to build," Yzerman said. "I'm disappointed we haven't won a Stanley Cup yet."
Now it will be up to BriseBois to get the Lightning over the hump, with Yzerman at his side.
"Usually you get a GM job and you're building something, you're laying the foundations," BriseBois said. "In my case, it's more about putting on the finishing touches. It's a lot more work for a smaller increment of improvement that we're looking for at this point. So I think for our organization, that's the focus, that we're going to have to work even harder than we've been working just to be incrementally better so we give ourselves that much more chance of winning a Stanley Cup."