The Seattle Kraken got some good news before their Tuesday night assignment at home versus the visiting Minnesota Wild, with the team announcing the return of veteran forward Yanni Gourde to the lineup.
“THIS JUST IN! Gourdo’s been activated from IR ahead of tonight’s game vs. the Wild!” the Kraken shared in a post on X (formerly) before the said contest at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
Gourde, who had not played since a Jan. 2 game against the Vancouver Canucks, missed a total of 22 outings, as he underwent a succesful sports hernia surgery. During his lengthy absence, the Kraken went just 9-12-1, scoring 66 goals and allowing 75 in that span.
What makes Gourde’s return even more interesting is how close it was to the 2025 NHL trade deadline, which is on Friday. Gourde has long been rumored as a potential trade candidate among Kraken assets, so the fact that he’s already active and playing should boost the confidence of any interested parties in his services.
The 33-year-old Gourde is playing on an expiring contract that’s earning him $5.16 million in the 2024-25 NHL season, but there’s also the possibility that the Kraken would still pay part of that salary after a potential trade.
Before he hit the long-term injured reserve, Gourde had scored just six goals and dished out 10 assists for 16 points through 35 games with the Kraken this campaign.
Gourde, who won two Stanley Cup titles with the Tampa Bay Lightning, was acquired by the Kraken via the 2021 NHL expansion draft. In his first season with Seattle, Gourde scored 21 goals to go with 27 assists in 74 games during the 2021-22 campaign. The following season, he posted 14 goals and 34 assists. across 81 contests His numbers dropped in the 2023-24 season in which he only had 11 goals and 22 assists through 80 games.
The Kraken can easily be viewed as sellers ahead of the trade deadline, considering how unlikely it is for them to make the 2025 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. They entered the Wild game with just a 26-31-4 record for 56 games — 14 point back of the No. 3 spot in the Pacific division and 11 points behind the Calgary Flames, who occupied the No. 2 Wild Card spot in the Western Conference entering Tuesday.
The Kraken have a game left to play before the deadline, as they are scheduled to face off versus the Nashville Predators on the road on Thursday.
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