The Tampa Bay Lightning are only three years removed from their last appearance in the Stanley Cup Final in 2022, and that was after back-to-back Stanley Cup victories in 2020 and 2021.
One player who was a part of those Cup-winning squads was forward Yanni Gourde, who was later exposed in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft and subsequently claimed by the Seattle Kraken. But could the Lightning be considering bringing him back into the fold?
Analysts Chris Johnston and Pierre LeBrun suggested that a reunion with Gourde could be possible for the Lightning, who want to add depth to their roster before the impending NHL Trade Deadline on March 7, via The New York Times.
“Management has reversed course in recent weeks, shifting focus away from pursuing a defenseman because of J.J. Moser’s return to health and Emil Lilleberg’s continued emergence, and prioritizing an addition at forward. That doesn’t rule out a depth addition on the blue line, though. The Lightning tend to conduct their business discreetly, but some in the industry believe they’d be open to a reunion with forward Yanni Gourde as a rental. The element of surprise is always in play with Tampa GM Julien BriseBois, too.”
Gourde is in the final year of his current contract that he originally signed with the Lightning in 2018 with a cap hit of $5,166,666; he can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
The Lightning face the in-state rival Florida Panthers on Monday night.
Kraken forward Yanni Gourde won the Stanley Cup twice with the Lightning
Gourde was never drafted into the NHL; he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Syracuse Crunch, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2014. He would later make his NHL debut with the Lightning in 2015-16.
His first full campaign in the NHL was the 2017-18 season, when he appeared in 80 games and scored 25 goals with 39 assists. Tampa Bay saw fit to reward him with a six-year, $31 million extension in 2018. After helping the Lightning win back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, Gourde was left unprotected in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft and was taken by the Kraken.
In his first year with Seattle, he scored 21 goals and 27 assists in 81 games, and followed that up with 14 goals and a career-high 34 assists the following season as the Kraken qualified for the postseason.
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