Yzerman, who has won four Stanley Cups and three Olympic gold medals as a player and executive, has been credited with much of the Lightning’s sustained success the past eight seasons.

“Whatever you do in life, part of being successful is passion,” said Red Wings General Manager Ken Holland, who began training Yzerman during his playing career and presided over Yzerman’s three championships as a player before working with him when Detroit won another title in 2008. “It can’t be work. If it’s just a job, your energy level is going to be drained over time. That passion and desire to gather knowledge are what Steve had as a player and he’s also taken into the front office.”

Yzerman arrived in Tampa in 2010 after serving in the Red Wings’ front office for four years and guiding Canada to Olympic gold in 2010 as the team’s executive director — a feat the country would repeat under him in 2014.

He found success quickly in Tampa. During Yzerman’s first season, the Lightning surprised the hockey world by reaching Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. When they reached the Stanley Cup finals in 2015, only three members of the 2010-11 team were on the roster. Just two of them, Stamkos and Victor Hedman, are still with the franchise.

Such has been the adaptive nature of the Lightning under Yzerman.

In 2015, Martin St. Louis, a former league scoring champion and the team’s captain at the time, demanded a trade. Although he limited his list of possible destinations to one team — the Rangers — the Lightning managed to acquire a younger player and another former captain, forward Ryan Callahan, and valuable draft picks.