TAMPA BAY, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Lightning, now just weeks into their offseason after another unfortunate first round exit, have recently made a significant roster move to open up the offseason. Yesterday, June 2, the Bolts announced that they have extended fan favourite forward Yanni Gourde to a six-year contract worth an Average-Annual Value (AAV) of $2.33 million.
This is a big signing for the Lightning; not only will he provide a “pest” presence for the team for more seasons, but it will also electrify the locker room—something that has been missing for many postseasons. Fans were questioning whether general manager Julien BriseBois would be able to close a deal with the familiar face since his contract was expiring. But after multiple attempts at offering low contracts in the $2 million range to different players, this one finally came to fruition.
Gourde, 33, recently returned to Tampa after he and Oliver Bjorkstrand were traded for Mikey Eyssimont on March 5, 2025. They both would play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but fall short against the Florida Panthers again. The trade came as great but also shocking news to Bolts fans.
For so many seasons, fans and the Lightning were missing the presence of the 5-foot-9 centre after he brought them two, back-to-back Stanley Cups, and had such a memorable character. His character and tenacity on and off the ice were highlights for so many, and it boosted the team in the right direction.
In this season’s stint with the Kraken, Gourde notched six goals and 11 assists in 36 contests, compared to last season’s campaign, where he tallied only 11 goals and 22 assists in 80 games with a minus-11 rating. His downward slump came at a cost, and it is believed this is why Kraken general manager Ron Francis traded him back to familiar territory.
Likewise, after coming back to Tampa, the centre with his ‘pest’ way of playing fell right back into the roster as if he never left. In his first game back in a Bolts sweater, Gourde assisted a goal to linemate Bjorkstrand against the Buffalo Sabres. After skating in 21 games for the Lightning this season, the centre collected one goal with 13 assists, finishing with a plus-4 rating. Gourde skated in five contests and recorded one assist during the short playoff appearance, finishing with a minus-3 rating.
From his three-season tenure with the Kraken, the Québec native was an alternate captain, leading by example, experience, heart, and character; he was a fan favourite to so many, but also a notable teammate. Gourde went on to play in 271 regular season games while racking up 52 goals from 146 points. Back in 2023, he helped lead the Kraken to their first and only postseason berth while playing all 14 games, registering two game-winning goals and two standard goals for 13 points.
Before getting picked up by the Kraken in the 2021 Expansion Draft, Gourde recorded an impressive season for the Lightning with 36 points collected from 17 goals and 19 assists. During that season, he would also hoist the Stanley Cup again, while collecting six goals and a single assist in his postseason campaign.
Hailing from Saint-Narcisse, Québec, Gourde first appeared in the NHL for the Lightning during the 2015-16 season, where he skated in two games and earned an assist. After that season, he spent the next five years with the Lightning, collecting 187 points from 310 games and earning two Stanley Cup championship rings. From the 2018-21 postseason campaign, he appeared in each of the Bolts’ 69 playoff games, recording 16 goals and 29 points.
Gourde has been around the block in the NHL for a long time, and it looks like he’ll be around for much longer with the team he has two Stanley Cups with.
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