NHL Trade Grades: Lightning Get Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand From Kraken

Some offseason finagling was enough to rejuvenate a stale situation in Tampa Bay, but the Lightning entered Wednesday fourth in the Eastern Conference by points percentage and in a distinct class below the league's elite.

The main culprit? A lack of roster depth.

It's hard to attack that depth now, at least as far as the forwards are concerned. Tampa added significant reinforcements Wednesday by landing Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand in a eye-popping trade with the Seattle Kraken.

Gourde returns to Tampa Bay after four seasons away, while Bjorkstrand is a remarkable fit for the second line. Head coach Jon Cooper is now able to mercifully bump Zemgus Girgensons down the lineup.

Is that enough to return the Lightning to the top ranks of the Eastern Conference?

Meanwhile, the Kraken were at a crossroads as an organization. They were reportedly in talks to re-sign Gourde, while Bjorkstrand has another year remaining on his contract. Did they make the right decision to move on?

Keep reading for analysis of the players involved and grades for each team.

Tampa Bay Lightning

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Anyone who insists a Cup contender’s shutdown center must have a certain look as a big bruiser should remember what Yanni Gourde did in Tampa Bay for five seasons. The 5’9” forward was the most important fixture on the best third line in the NHL and helped Tampa Bay win back-to-back Stanley Cups.

Gourde’s game has dropped off in the years since, but the 33-year-old is still the same type of do-everything center who will overwhelm teams that lack depth. If one imagines an Atlas-esque figure holding the rink up and tilting it to move the puck away from his team’s net, that’s Gourde. He’s a strong defensive center and involves himself to keep play away from danger and towards the offensive zone. He chips in secondary offense, hovering around a point every other game. 

The fit isn’t obvious, as the Lightning are already strong down the middle. Either one of him or Nick Paul will move to the wing, or the Lightning are set up to have the best fourth-line center anyone could imagine.

As a prospect in the WHL, Oliver Bjorkstrand showed stylistic similarities to a (much) lesser version of Marian Hossa, and he’s held to that comparison for much of his NHL career. He is good for a consistent 20-goal and 30-assist season and is capable of more with more talented linemates than he was afforded in Seattle. He’ll get that in Tampa Bay.

The Dane has average size but is really sturdy on his skates. I love his motor and hockey acumen. He’s never a passenger on the ice and is about as dependable of a defensive winger as one will find. In Seattle, Bjostrand proved he could consistently match up against top players and limit chances without taking penalties.

Gourde will get more attention in this deal because of his connection to Tampa Bay, but Bjorkstrand is the best player in this deal. He’s a high-end second-line right winger whose versatile game will provide a nice balance behind Nikita Kucherov’s electric skill. The prospect of Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli with this third component on a play-driving line should terrify other Eastern Conference teams.

Whereas Gourde is an unrestricted free agent this summer, the 29-year-old Bjorkstrand makes perfect sense for the Lightning, as he both fixes a major roster imbalance and is signed through 2026. Gourde feels more like a sentimental luxury addition. He makes the team better but is a rental (unless the Lightning re-sign him), and Tampa Bay has greater needs on defense.

Giving up two first-round picks and a second-rounder in this deal all but empties the reserves for a team that has drafted in the first round just once since 2020. That may be the price the market dictated for a player like Gourde, but considering the Bolts’ roster makeup and need to ration assets, they perhaps should have limited their scope to Bjorkstrand.

In any case, the dynamic has changed in Tampa Bay. The Lightning entered the day as a good team with the potential to slay a few dragons in the playoffs. Now, they’re one of the dragons.

Grade: B+

Seattle Kraken

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The Kraken are out of the playoff picture for a second straight season, and they're correct to use this moment to audit the direction of the team beyond the baseline expectations of selling at the deadline. One can look up and down the Kraken lineup on both forward and defense and locate plenty of good and useful players.

The problem is a lack of high-end talent. This trade provides great juxtaposition for this harsh reality. Whereas Bjorkstrand was arguably the best forward on Seattle’s roster, he ranks fifth or sixth in Tampa Bay.

GM Ron Francis is wisely pivoting to a retool. To acquire difference-makers, one must have both cap space and desirable trade chips. Two first-round picks and a second-round pick can either help the Kraken build out a prospect pool—remember, they’ve only participated in four NHL drafts and are still working on accumulating talent—and they’ll soon be able to use their asset surplus to take runs at better, younger players who fit with a realistic contention window more than Gourde and Bjorkstrand did.

Michael Eyssimont, 28, is one of Tampa Bay’s classic hidden gems. The former St. Cloud State star did not become an NHL regular until two seasons ago, which was seven seasons removed from his draft year. After brief stints in Winnipeg and San Jose, Tampa Bay turned him into a serviceable fourth-line wing.

Eyssimont is a heady defensive player who has good enough hands to provide sufficient offense from the bottom of the depth chart. He’s an unrestricted free agent in July and will at least plug a hole for the remainder of the season.

The Kraken benefitted from favorable market circumstances, but the front office still had to execute. They did not have to move Bjorkstrand and could have insisted that next year would be different. They also could have moved Bjorkstrand and Gourde in separate trades.

Instead, by recognizing the need to rethink the makeup of the roster, and by bundling both Bjorkstrand and Gourde together, Seattle was able to get a robust return. The Kraken now have the tools and room to quickly build a competitive team again rather than toiling away in the depths of a rebuild as long as they identify and procure the right players who can be the faces of the franchise.

Grade: A