Lightning add Bjorkstrand, bring back Gourde in massive trade with Kraken
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The Tampa Bay Lightning are acquiring forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde from the Seattle Kraken, it was announced Wednesday afternoon.
Seattle gets first-round picks in both 2026 and 2027 that are top 10 protected, a 2025 second-round pick that was previously belonging to the Toronto Maple Leafs and forward Michael Eyssimont back in the deal.
In addition to the two forwards, Tampa Bay also received a 2026 fifth-round pick. The Lightning are without a first-round pick until the 2028 draft.
The Detroit Red Wings are also involved in the deal and are retaining 50 per cent of Gourde's salary, which stands at roughly $1.29 million for the rest of the season. The Lightning are sending Detroit a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2025 as part of the deal.
"Oliver and Yanni were tremendous players for our organization who led by example on and off the ice, and I wish them all the best in their next chapter with the Lightning,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said in a news release. "Decisions like these are never easy, but creating this valuable cap space and draft capital allows us to be active in improving our team moving forward. In addition, we welcome Michael Eyssimont to the group. He’s a versatile, hardworking forward who can join our lineup immediately.”
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 33-year-old returned to the Kraken's lineup on Tuesday for the first time since being injured on Jan. 2, posting an assist in 12:53 of ice time.
A pending unrestricted free agent, Gourde carries a cap hit of $5.17 million on his expiring deal. He has six goals and 17 points in 36 games this season after posting 11 goals and 33 points in 80 games last season. The left-handed centre is a three-time 20-goal scorer, last hitting the mark in 2021-22 in his first season with the Kraken.
Bjorkstrand, 29, has 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.
The 6-foot winger is on the fourth season of a five-year, $27 million deal with an annual cap hit of $5.4 million. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season.
Drafted 89th overall by the Blue Jackets in 2013, Bjorkstrand has 167 goals and 375 points in 606 career games split between the Blue Jackets and Kraken.
Seattle is 11 points back of the Calgary Flames for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference and appear to have set their course as a seller at the deadline. TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reported on Tuesday that the Kraken have made teams aware they are willing to retain the full 50 per cent of Brandon Tanev's expiring deal to help facilitate a trade.
The 28-year-old 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. Selected in the fifth round of the 2016 draft by the Los Angeles Kings, Eyssimont has 21 goals and 50 points in 193 career games with the Winnipeg Jets, San Jose Sharks and Lightning.
Tampa Bay has a 9-1-1 record since Feb. 1, vaulting the team from the wild-card race into a fight with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers for first in the Atlantic Division. The Lightning are three points back of both the Panthers and Maple Leafs, with a game in hand on Florida.
The Lightning cleared a spot on the NHL roster by placing veteran forward Cam Atkinson on waivers on Tuesday.