3 ways the Detroit Red Wings can model their rebuild around Tampa Bay

The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs have been as entertaining as ever, well, up until now.  The Finals have been a bit of a snooze fest after such a robust and entertaining first three rounds.  The house that Steve Yzerman built is just steamrolling its way to what appears to be back-to-back NHL Championships.  This should give Detroit Red Wings fans plenty of hope moving forward.

Although Detroit’s adopted son has returned home, watching the Tampa Bay Lightning dismantle Montreal should leave us with an abundance of optimism.

Yzerman took a down and out Tampa Bay franchise and built them into the bully they currently are.  Yzerman left the organization a year premature for his sake, or he would be a Stanley Cup winning general manager (GM). Although he didn’t receive a ring, his fingerprints remain littered throughout that Lightning roster.

During his eight years at the helm in Tampa, the Lightning made the conference finals three times and the Stanley Cup final once, albeit failing to win a title. Still, he indeed poured the foundation, and current GM Julien Brisebois is reaping the benefit.

I don’t mean any disrespect towards Brisebois; he’s made a few moves adding a plethora of role players such as Pat Maroon, Blake Coleman, and Barclay Goodrow to the star-studded roster left behind by Yzerman. Steve certainly left Brisebois with a Ferrari to drive. In the meantime, he’s settled for a Ford Focus in Detroit.