Red Wings get involved in monster Yanni Gourde trade!
Another twist to the major transaction on Wednesday. More below:
On Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Lightning acquired Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde, along with defenseman Kyle Aucoin and a 2026 firth-round pick from the Seattle Kraken in return for both 2026 and 2027, a 2025 second-round pick that was previously belonging to the Toronto Maple Leafs and forward Michael Eyssimont back in the deal.
However, to make that major trade happen, the Bolts needed the help of the Detroit Red Wings. According to Pierre LeBrun, the Wings and the Kraken are both retaining some of Gourde's $5.17 million cap hit before Gourde lands in Tampa.
The Wings received a fourth round pick in 2025 in the transaction.
FULL DETAILS HERE BELOW, per Elliotte Friedman :
Following this monster transaction, the Lightning is now without a first-round pick until the 2028 draft. The two first round picks Seattle gets are top-10 protected.
It’s a reunion for Gourde as he returns to Tampa Bay, where he won two Stanley Cups with the Lightning 2020 and 2021. The veteran forward just returned to action this week after missing 22 games after undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia.
A pending unrestricted free agent, Gourde comes a $5.167 million cap hit on his expiring deal. He has put up six goals and 17 points in 36 games this season after posting 11 goals and 33 points in 80 games last season.
As for Bjorkstrand, he has collected 16 goals and 37 points in 61 games with the Kraken this season. He is closing on his seventh 20-goal campaign in the past eight years. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season.
Seattle is 11 points back of the Calgary Flames for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference and looked to have chosen the selling route for the deadline.
Eyssimont heading back to Seattle is a pending unrestricted free agent carrying a cap hit of $800,000. He has five goals and 10 points in 57 games this season.
Tampa Bay has now collected a 9-1-1 record since the start of February, pushing the team from the wild-card race into a fight with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers for first in the Atlantic Division.
