Lightning GM Steve Yzerman has been a busy man since he got to Tampa Bay - overseeing the draft, hiring a new coaching staff, ripping off the Philadelphia Flyers.
One thing he has not done is set up a Facebook account and made a bunch of "friends."
Or did he?
A couple of weeks ago, somebody set up a Facebook account under the name Steve Yzerman. They posted a picture of him on the profile, started adding "friends" and began posting status updates. It seemed like it could have been legit: whoever it was, they were not engaging in back and forth dialogue and most of the status updates were things you'd expect the general manager of a rebuilding NHL franchise to say.
But the other day, the account simply disappeared, and a source in a position to know confirmed that the whole thing was a fraud.
Whether the person who opened the account is the same one responsible for removing it is unknown. Could be that Facebook received complaints and shut it down. Unlike Twitter, Facebook doesn't verify user accounts as genuine, only stating in their terms of service that "You will not provide any false personal information on Facebook, or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission." Violation of the terms of service results in being kicked off the service.
That may be the least of the imposter's problems as the NHL is aware of the situation and is said to be "very concerned," and seeking to investigate the matter further. Findings from that investigation could lead to legal action. Was it an inside job? Nobody knows at this point, but an awful lot of the initial friend requests were sent to current and former Tampa Bay Lightning employees, many of whom (myself included) were taken in.
So if you thought Stevie Y was your "friend", I hate to be the one to tell you that your relationship, which was built on a lie, is over. But look at this way: It's not you, it's him...well, not "him" him.
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