Steve Yzerman is likely already preparing plans for the future, including projections for upcoming restricted free agents.
It's never too early to look ahead to the offseason and start planning when you're an NHL general manager. Recently, the Lightning opened up a morning skate for season ticket members that included interviews with center Tyler Johnson and GM Steve Yzerman, all hosted by the TV game coverage tandem of Rick Peckham and Brian Engblom.
When attention turned to Yzerman, he said that as far as the 2016 NHL trade deadline is concerned, about a month before the February 29th date he'll start making calls to his counterparts around the league and start lining up potential deals.