Well, at least there is one jersey fans know they can hold onto for a little while. The Tampa Bay Lightning announced that fan favorite, two-time Stanley Cup winner, trade deadline acquisition, and all-around good vibes guy, Yanni Gourde, has signed a six-year contract with an average annual value of $2.33 million. Barring any unforeseen circumstances that means the 33-year-old is basically a Bolt For Life.
Gourde was acquired by the team at the trade deadline, along with Oliver Bjorkstrand, from the Seattle Kraken for a treasure chest of draft picks. In the 21 games following the trade, he put up 14 points (1 goal, 13 assists) while averaging 17 minutes of ice time. He added another assist in the playoffs. In his post-season press conference, general manager Julien BriseBois did say that he was hoping they would be able to re-sign the veteran center, and it appears that Gourde, who probably could have signed for a higher AAV (but shorter term) on the open market, was extremely interested in staying.
It’s unlikely that Gourde will put up the same numbers he did during his first stint with the Lightning, where he appeared in 311 games with 80 goals and 107 assists, but he should be a productive third-line center that is tough to play against, and can contribute some offense. The big question that arises from signing a mid-30’s forward known for playing a physical game is durability. Will Gourde make it to the end of the deal?
Honestly, it’s a 50/50 proposition. Herein lies the beauty of the deal. It’s an extremely team-friendly, buy-out contract. Let’s say his value to the team starts to drop after three years and the Lightning buy him out after the 2027-28 season. They would save $666,667 on the cap hit over the final three years of his contract, and then get hit with a $333,333 penalty from the 2031-32 season until 2033-34. Assuming the cap continues to rise, that is not a huge burden for a team to carry. [note – these numbers are estimated based on the information available right now and could change slightly once the final details are released].
Even if he wasn’t Gourde Ver 1.0 with the Lightning, he put up very effective numbers last season between Seattle and Tampa Bay. He was a solid two-way contributor and should fill the third-line center role for a majority of the time while giving the Lightning another aggressive penalty-killer. He also has the ability to move up and down the roster based on need and can be effective on the wing if Tampa Bay needs him to be.
One of the benefits of re-signing Gourde, as opposed to finding a solution on the open market or trying a rookie, is that he is a known commodity. One thing that Mr. BriseBois has made clear over the last few years is that he prefers to deal with known entities when he has a chance. That is one of the reasons he likes to keep his trade deadline acquisitions. It’s also a reason he reacquired Gourde in the first place. There is no adjustment period needed, something that we often see with free agents that have no ties to the Lightning system.
The Bolts should be strong down the middle next season with Brayden Point on the top line, Anthony Cirelli on the second, Gourde on the third or fourth with Nick Paul or possibly Conor Geekie taking the final spot. Does it also potentially free up one of those players to move this summer? This could be a repeat (although on a smaller scale) of the move they made last season when they traded for Ryan McDonagh, which then allowed them to trade Mikhail Sergachev for some younger pieces and the cap space needed to sign Jake Guentzel and the rest of the free agents. With Gourde under contract long-term, could Nick Paul and his $3.15 million cap hit be on the move (with his approval of course)?
With the signing, Puckpedia estimates that the Lightning have $3,480,001 of space remaining for next year with 20 players currently counting against the salary cap.
