from Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times,

Fans are frustrated and worried. General manager Steve Yzerman said he feels their pain but isn't ready to hit the panic button — yet.

"Obviously, I share the fans' concern," Yzerman told the Tampa Bay Times in a 15-minute conversation Wednesday. "We all want to win and play better. We have expectations.

"But again, we have to break this down and analyze where we are, what we're doing and why we're not winning. I want to stress to our team that it's hard to win in this league. We're just on the wrong side."

Yzerman, a Hall of Fame player and former Red Wings captain, is as competitive as anyone. Losing drives him nuts. But Yzerman said he has seen plenty of good things, from his players' effort to team defense and goaltending (the Lightning was 10th in goals against entering Wednesday's games). Scoring will come, he said.

That's why Yzerman isn't planning on making a trade just for the sake of shaking things up.

"I don't believe in that," Yzerman said. "I'm not going to do something just to do something. … We talk 12 months of the year around the league, talking to guys, exploring ideas, trying to find fits for things. But if the stars align, you have something that makes sense."

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