“Give him the GM of the year, right now.”
These were bold words about GM Steve Yzerman, spoken by NHL.com’s Dan Rosen during Sportsnet’s television coverage on the opening day of free agency immediately after announcing the news that defenseman Victor Hedman has signed an eight-year extension with the Lightning worth $63 million, which carries an AAV of $7.875 million.
“We are very pleased to announce the signing of Victor Hedman to an eight-year contract extension. Victor has matured into one of the top defensemen in the NHL and coming off the recent re-signing of our captain, Steven Stamkos, we've secured another extremely important member of our team,” Yzerman said in a statement.