Can't say anyone saw this one coming just two days before training camps open.
According to reports, Steve Yzerman has stepped down as the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team favored to win the Stanley Cup this season.
Yzerman is expected to remain in the organization in an advisory role while assistant GM Julien BriseBois will be promoted. A 4 p.m. press conference has been scheduled for Tuesday in Tampa.
BriseBois, 41, has served as Yzerman's assistant GM in Tampa since 2010. He also served as the GM of the Lightning's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.
The 53-year-old Yzerman took the Lightning job in May of 2010 and has led Tampa Bay to five postseason appearances in eight seasons. In 2015, the Lightning reached the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. The Lightning advanced to the Eastern Conference Final in 2016 and '18 but lost to the Penguins and Capitals, respectively, in seven games each series.
Tuesday's surprise announcement has caused obvious speculation that Yzerman could be returning to Detroit where he remains a civic icon.
Yzerman, the Red Wings' first-round pick in 1983, led Detroit to three Stanley Cups as a player. He is the seventh-leading scorer in NHL history with 1,755 points and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.
Before joining the Lightning, Yzerman spent four seasons in the Red Wings' front office but was blocked from the manager's job by Ken Holland, Detroit's longtime GM. Holland signed a two-year extension in April, while Yzerman is under contract for one more season in Tampa.