Abel to Yzerman

I will be adding videos to this post, so make sure to check back every so often.

added 4:15pm, Below, the full press conference.

added 4:24pm, Below, Henrik Zetterberg and Kris Draper.

added 5:17pm, Below, a nice picture of Holland and Yzerman.

First up, GM Yzerman after the press conference.

Did you expect this?

DETROIT – Detroit Red Wings Governor, President and CEO Christopher Ilitch today announced that Steve Yzerman has been named Executive Vice President and General Manager responsible for all hockey operations and that Ken Holland has been promoted to Senior Vice President and will serve as a senior advisor to hockey operations.

“This is a truly exciting day for the Detroit Red Wings, we are thrilled to welcome Steve Yzerman back to Hockeytown,” said Ilitch. “Steve has produced tremendous results as a General Manager in the National Hockey League, as well as an executive in international competition. He is a smart, driven, competitive and determined executive with outstanding leadership skills, as demonstrated both over his playing and management careers. Steve and Ken have proven to be two of the most successful general managers of their era, and to have Steve leading our hockey operations and Ken providing valued support is a tremendous advantage for our organization. I believe we took a strong management team and made it even stronger today.”

Below is the live stream for the Steve Yzerman press conference.

It is via YouTube but just in case it goes belly up, here is the direct link.

It is also planned to be on DetroitRedWings.com plus their Facebook and Twitter pages.

Chants of Come Home Stevie at the closing of JLA.

Watch Yzerman's full speech from that night below.

from Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal,

The far more interesting question this decision now presents is: Will Ken Holland stay in Detroit? Or is there a new challenge out there for a man who had probably been the best NHL General Manager of the past two decades?

For the time being, at least, Detroit will position this as Holland as staying on as Sr. Vice-President. Holland and Yzerman are very good friends. There is no way that Holland would just bring in Yzerman and then walk away, cold-turkey, and steal his friend’s thunder. Not gonna happen.

But I am made to believe that the Edmonton Oilers have indeed spoken to Holland about potential opportunities here. No that could mean a number of things, of which I suspect the General Manager’s job is probably the one that interests Holland the least. And that’s why I have never thought that Holland was a realistic top candidate to become the Oilers G.M., before or now.

more

added 1:41pm,

from Ansar Khan of Mlive,

“Yzie brings instant credibility, and that’s not taking anything away from Kenny,” Chelios told MLive. “Sometimes it’s a player you acquire in the draft or a trade that gives you that boost. Yzie, from up in the press box, will have that effect. He speaks with conviction. The players will want to play for him. It’s going to be great.

“It didn’t take him long to build that team in Tampa. His work ethic as a GM was the same as a player. He’s going to be chomping at the bit to get the team ready for training camp. … The timing is perfect. He’s ready to take on the new challenge and I’m sure he’s looking forward to it.”

more

added 11:07am,

added 11:20am, one more add below.

added 8:21am, from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

The Detroit Red Wings aren’t wasting time welcoming Steve Yzerman back into their fold.

Days after the Tampa Bay Lightning, where Yzerman was general manager, were eliminated from the playoffs, the Wings have called a press conference for this afternoon.

A tweet all but gave away the announcement: Signs point to Yzerman being named general manager and Holland moving into an advisory role.

continued

added 8:30am, Below, tweets from Bob McKenzie...