Lightning sign Gourde to six-year contract

The Tampa Bay Lightning are keeping one of their key forwards around for several more years. 

On Monday, vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced they had signed center Yanni Gourde to a six-year, $13.98 million contract, keeping him with an AAV of $2.33 million through the end of his age-39 season. 

The 33-year-old finished last season with the Lightning after he came over in a trade from the Seattle Kraken, alongside Olivier Bjorkstrand, in exchange for Michael Eysimont and three draft picks in the lead-up to the NHL Trade Deadline.

Initially signed by the Lightning as an undrafted free agent in 2014, Gourde won the Stanley Cup with them in 2020 and 2021, before going on to join the Kraken for the 2021-22 season as an expansion draft selection.

Through 602 NHL regular-season games between the Lightning and Kraken, Gourde has 133 goals and 347 points, while posting 40 goals and 43 points in 88 Stanley Cup Playoff contests. 

In his previous tenure with the Lightning, he played 310 regular-season games, scoring 80 goals and 187 points, ranking among the team’s top forwards over that span, before going on to net 52 goals and 146 points in 271 games with the Kraken. 

Splitting his time between Seattle and Tampa Bay in 2024-25, the native of Saint-Narcisse, Québec, posted seven goals and 31 points in 57 games before skating in each of Tampa Bay’s five playoff games against the Florida Panthers. 

Yet, it is Gourde’s all-around play that has been his consistent strength. After his trade, he ranked second among all Lightning players with 50 hits, before adding nine more in the series against the Panthers. 

After years of contention, the Lightning have fallen out of the first round of the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, and will hope Gourde can be part of their retooling efforts to bring them back to deep playoff runs.