from Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times,

Vinik on patience in building a winning franchise: There’s no other way to do it. We want to win the Stanley Cup this year. Do we hava shot at winning the Cup this year? We absolutely do and I hope we do, and three years ago we almost did. So, there’s no predicting. But the way to develop a program that’s going to be in the top of the NHL year after year after year is to draft young players and have them develop in the system and be contributors over time. It takes patience, but we’re getting there. These players are coming up and making a difference right now.

On Yzerman I think Steve is doing a great job, yes. ... I couldn’t be more pleased with the job Steve Yzerman is doing. I think he's put together the best, or one of the best, staffs in all of hockey. I think they’ve done a great job in drafting and developing young players. I think he’s made a lot of good moves over the years. My general manager has my support 100 percent.

More on Yzerman: Again, Steve has my full supprt. I think I said it the day at the first press conferece … He was at Detroit for, like, 19 years. I hope he's with this organization for 19 years, too.

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