The Tampa Bay Lightning are, without a doubt, a rejuvenated franchise these days.
The reason?
A sense of direction and pride created by owner Jeffrey Vinik and GM Steve Yzerman.
On August 7, 2007, Bill Davidson, chairman of Palace Sports & Entertainment and owner of several North American sports teams including the Lightning, announced he was selling the team.
Without an owner for several months, the team was struggling, sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference at the All-Star break near the end of January.
Finally, on February 13, 2008, OK Hockey LLC, a group headed by Oren Koules (a movie producer known for the Saw series) agreed to purchase the franchise.
The Lightning would go on to finish dead last that season, using the No. 1 overall draft pick to select Steven Stamkos.
The very next season, The Bolts hired Barry Melrose as head coach. Melrose lasted just 16 games before assistant Rick Tocchet took over as interim head coach. The change made no difference. The Lightning finished the season with 66 points, their lowest total since the 2000-01 campaign.
Although better in 2009-10, the team fell eight points shy of a playoff spot.
However, one of the best things happened to the franchise during that season. The team was spun off to another owner. This time it was Jeffrey Vinik, a private investment banker from Boston. A day after the 2009-10 season came to a close, Vinik cleaned house, firing both Tocchet as head coach and GM Brian Lawton.
A month later, Vinik hired Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman to take over as general manager of his newly-acquired Lightning. From there, he stepped out of the way, and essentially let Yzerman call the shots.
The things Yzerman has accomplished with this franchise after just one season are tremendous. Recognized by the league, Yzerman was a strong finalist for the GM of the Year award in just his first year at the helm.
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