Here's what I guess is actually going on, btw (all conjecture):

I think Marty probably wants to be re-upped. I think he wants stability and not go into a UFA contract year where, if things go sideways, he can get traded. I think Yzerman won't give him that extension, though, because Marty's at an age now that no sane GM should be giving more than 1-year contracts at a time. Point blank, when Marty's game goes, it's going to go down the tubes quick. So Yzerman needs to take it year to year a la the way some of the other elder statesmen around the league, like Selanne, have been handled.

I would not be surprised if the Rangers have tampered with Marty by sending him the message through back channels (Richards) that they are willing to give him something like a 2-year extension. Unless Yzerman has Matlock on speed dial, though, good luck proving it.

All of this plays on Marty's previous butthurt (much of which is justified) in his many years with the franchise. He never got the big contract that Richards or Lecavalier got. Cripes, Lecavalier got 2 big contracts and then got paid another fat wad of cash to go away. Even Dan Boyle got taken care of before Marty, and Marty's sucked it up and taken it like a good soldier. But don't think that hasn't been in the back of his mind that he's been a heart and souler and watched other guys profit more from his hard work than he has.

None of that is Yzerman's fault, mind you. He didn't hand out the contracts that Feaster and later OK Hockey did. In fact, I think he tried to iron things out with Marty by making sure his first deal as GM was to give Marty a fairly sizable contract extension (which I suspect was a response to his finding out Marty previously requested Lawton to trade him, as we found out this week). But, I suspect it's hard for Marty to take emotion out of the equation and compartmentalize who did what as opposed to just lumping it all together and holding it against the organization as one monolithic entity that has collectively, in his mind, repeatedly screwed him over.

Bear in mind also, before you ever even get to page one of his history with the Lightning, he's already got a chip the size of Greenland on his shoulder from not being drafted because of his size, which also plays into this. Unlike Vinny, for instance, Marty's going to be somewhat predisposed to believe he's getting hosed, because at the start of his career he did unfairly get hosed by the whole league.

So then Yzerman gets overruled by Hockey Canada and gets outvoted to leave Marty off the Olympic team, and that just rips the scab completely off. It's not the reason I think Marty feels the way he feels. It's the straw that's broken the camel's back, and it's a topic with so much emotion in it that I think it's overwhelmed his ability to step outside of himself and try to see things objectively from the Lightning/Yzerman's perspective.

So I would not at all be surprised if he went to Yzerman and made the demand for an extension, or something along those lines, or else he wants to be traded to the Rangers. Recall the wording from Marty, talking about his "future with the organization". Again, this is about more than the Olympics, IMO.

Now, here's where I think Yzerman is at: I don't think he wants to deal Marty. I really don't. I truly believe Stevie Y appreciates the hell out of Marty, but he just has to be prudent as a GM and not give out a stupid extension. And, I think he really hoped pulling rank in Hockey Canada and replacing Stammer with Marty and Marty winning Gold would be the elixir to make this all blow over, but I don't think he fully grasps that this is something that's been festering and building up for a decade in Marty's psyche.

So, he's doing his due diligence with the Rangers right now to see if there's a deal there that makes sense. Now, looking at everything and weighing the possibilities, I suspect the only deal that makes sense for the Lightning is one the Rangers can't afford to make, so no deal will be made. But, it's still important for Yzerman to go through the effort of putting together a deal with the Rangers in good faith because if he doesn't, it's only going to fuel Marty's upset. Yzerman doesn't want Marty to feel caged even though, truth of the matter, he's caged until at least the offseason.

Without a deal with the Rangers and assuming Marty won't waive his NMC to move somewhere else, Marty will stay with the team through the end of the season. Stamkos returns May 6th. The deadline comes and goes. Marty puts his head down and focuses on getting to the playoffs and working with the boys to try to win a Cup. And, Yzerman probably hopes, as time goes on the emotions for Marty die down and Marty can begin to approach the situation with a little more objectivity and that he and the organization can eventually hug it out.

The truth of the matter is that Marty's worth more to the organization than whatever they could get on the trade market for him this offseason at 38 years old with 1 year left on his deal. More valuable as a leader and a mentor, especially to his heir apparent in Jonathan Drouin coming in next season. That's why I think, ultimately, Yzerman doesn't want to deal Marty.

But, that'll be Marty's decision. If June rolls around and he's still pissed off, then I suspect Yzerman will have no choice but to pull the trigger. He'll line up as many teams as he can in a bidding war around the draft and try to make the best deal he can. Hopefully it doesn't come to that, though.

Now, I see a lot of folks on the internet lining up in one camp or the other: they're either in the "Marty's a saint and should be treated as sacred" camp or they're in the "Marty's a selfish bastard and I hope he goes to hell for requesting a trade" camp. Adding to this polarization is that the public simply isn't privy to everything that has happened in the past and what's been said now, which I've tried to infer the best I can above.

Folks need to be mature and not take sides in this, though, IMO. Yzerman, I truly believe, is trying to thread the needle of respecting a franchise icon and his feelings while also trying to protect the better interests of the team in the long term. From a rational standpoint, I can't really find fault with anything he's done.

Going through something oddly similar in my own professional life right now, I completely understand how Marty feels too, though. When you're the longest tenured guy somewhere and you've sacrificed and kept your mouth shut at a zillion real and/or perceived slights to try to build up a program, and then that organization doesn't take care of you the way you feel you should at the end of the day? Oh yeah, all that emotion bubbles to the surface, and it's not easy at all to treat things objectively and walk a mile in anyone's shoes but your own.

Hell, after 7 years with my company and making our President a frickin' millionaire, I'm annoyed as hell there isn't a bronze statue of me in front of the office, let alone any of the much more minor perks I'd like to have, and I haven't had to step in front of 100 mph slapshots or have 235 lb. men moving at 20 mph trying to pound me into a wall of plywood and plexiglass every night for those 7 years.

So I completely get how Marty feels, just like I completely get why Yzerman has to do what Yzerman has to do.

Now, you want to know what the best thing that could happen at this moment is? Yzerman does his due diligence, the deadline passes, and right after the Lightning (knock on wood) clinch a playoff berth, Vinik should meet with Marty, alone, and have an under the table discussion about how the Lightning will bend over backwards to take care of Marty and his family once his playing days are done. Not give him an extension. Not trade him. Make him a permanent fixture in his organization and tell him he can have a job for life in Tampa and name his salary to do it.

And if he does, I think he could calm Marty down and get this resolved amicably.

[LINK] http://boltprospects.com/forum/showpost.php?p=163324&postcount=393 [/LINK]