from Mike Johnston of Sportsnet,

Steve Yzerman has done an incredible job cultivating talent for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Since he became the GM in 2010 the team has been to three Eastern Conference finals, one Stanley Cup Final and they’re set up to be competitive for years to come with the core Yzerman has assembled.

The only thing that matters to the players and coaches at the moment is working through the recent spate of injuries, staying ahead of the Maple Leafs (who they play Thursday) and leapfrogging the Islanders (who occupy the final East wild card spot).

Beyond this season, however, is where it gets interesting for Lightning management—especially at forward. Between the upcoming expansion draft and the NHL’s salary cap system, Yzerman will be in a difficult position to keep that talented core intact heading into next season.

“It’s unfortunate. It really is,” former Lightning captain and the team’s VP of corporate and community affairs Dave Andreychuk told Hockey Central at Noon Thursday. “But again that’s the message we’ve sent out to everybody in this area…Listen, we live in a cap world, we understand where the cap’s going to be next year, and we don’t have enough money to keep our core together…Guys have to go.”

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