The Seattle Kraken have made some news in the run up to the trade deadline. News emerged that the Kraken have completed the Yanni Gourde trade. Seattle has dealt Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Michael Eyssimont. It appears the Lightning are putting the final touches on their roster as they load up for their post-season run. There’s also some picks involved as the Lightning had to give up a first rounder in 2026 and 2027 to get it done. One more note is on retention. Seattle is retaining 50% of Gourde’s salary. As well, the Detroit Red Wings are in the mix, as they took on 50% of the remainder (so 25% overall).
Trade details:
To #GoBolts:
Yanni Gourde
Oliver Bjorkstrand
2026 SEA 5th Round PickTo #SeaKraken:
2026 TBL 1st Round Pick
2027 TBL 1st Round Pick
2025 TOR 2nd Round Pick
Mikey EyssimontTampa Bay’s next first round pick is in 2028.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 5, 2025
Seattle Kraken Make Yanni Gourde Trade
Gourde has played for the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Kraken over his decade-long NHL career. The Saint-Narcisse, Quebec native has six goals and 11 assists for 17 points in 36 games this season. He has a Corsi for of 48.3 and a relative Corsi of -0.9.
Gourde started his career in the AHL and ECHL. However, he has two Stanley Cup titles to his name. The 33-year-old is an original member of the Kraken franchise after being taken in the 2021 expansion draft.
Gourde was a standout with Victoriaville Tigres in the QMJHL. He earned the Jean Beliveau award for the league’s top scorer and was named the league’s MVP in the 2012 season. However, he still went undrafted.
Oliver Bjorkstrand Trade Details
Bjorkstrand is a 29 year old, and five times he has been a 20-goal scorer. Furthermore, he is well on his way to achieving that mark again this year. He has always been a regular throughout his career. Back to his last few years with the Columbus Blue Jackets, he was up to over 17-and-a-half minutes a game. However, this year, and since coming over to the Seattle Kraken in 2022, he has been more around his career average. That number being over 15-and-a-half minutes. And to be as consistent scorer as he’s always been is quite impressive.
Picking up Bjorkstrand is a very underrated move. Adding middle-six depth scoring is always needed this time of year. Yes, the right winger isn’t cheap with $5.4 million on the books for next year. However, any little bit extra on an already good team, can ultimately pay off in spades.
What It Means
Seattle general manager Ron Francis has made another trade in order to build for the future. Gourde brought his Cup-winning experience to the roster and has been a mainstay in the Pacific Northwest. Bringing in the 28-year-old Eyssimont is a decent add on. He brings reliability to go along with being able to build for the future with all the draft picks acquired.
Back to Gourde, and he did have a stint on the long-term injured reserve after suffering a sports hernia injury. Gourde had surgery at the end of January to fix the issue. That surgery could have put him being moved at risk. However, he was able to return and has been traded.
The veteran forward may have missed a lot of time this season. However, he can still be useful to a roster. The trade is a tough one for Kraken fans to take, but it’s a necessary one to make. Gourde may already have two Stanley Cup rigns, but he still may be in the race to add another.
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Main photo by: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
