There was a significant trade on Wednesday between the Seattle Kraken, Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings according to nhl.com. The Kraken have traded centre Yanni Gourde of Saint-Narcisse, Quebec, and right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand of Herning, Denmark to the Lightning. The Lightning receive prospect defenseman Kyle Aucoin of Ottawa, Ontario from the Red Wings. The Kraken receive centre Michael Eyssimont of Littleton, Colorado from the Lightning. The Red Wings get a fourth round draft pick in the NHL Draft from the Lightning. The Kraken receive a first round pick in 2026 and 2027 from the Lightning and a second round pick in 2025 from Tampa Bay. The Lightning receive a fifth round pick in 2026 from the Kraken.
Oliver Bjorkstrand
The Lightning become Bjorkstrand’s third NHL team. He previously played seven seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2015 to 2022, and three seasons with the Kraken where he was an All-Star in 2023-24. In 61 games in Seattle, Bjorkstrand had 16 goals and 21 assists and 37 points. He was a -1 with 14 penalty minutes, eight power-play points, one game-winning goal, 124 shots on goal, two faceoff wins, 15 blocked shots. 61 hits, 21 takeaways, and 56 giveaways.
Bjorkstrand’s game-winning goal came on January 11 in a 6-2 Kraken win over the Buffalo Sabres. Bjorkstrand scored an unassisted goal at 3:08 of the third period to put the Kraken up 3-2 at the time.
Yanni Gourde
Gourde is returning to the Lightning where he was there from 2015 to 2021, and winning two Stanley Cups there in 2020 and 2021. Gourde then spent the last four seasons in Seattle since 2021-22. In 36 games with Seattle this season, he had six goals and 11 assists for 17 points. He was a -5 with 36 penalty minutes, one game-winning goal, 40 shots on goal, 191 faceoff wins, 26 blocked shots, 59 hits, 11 takeaways and 23 giveaways. Gourde’s game-winning goal came on December 3, 2024 in a 4-2 Kraken win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Gourde scored at 10:48 of the third period from Jaden Schwartz of Wilcox, Saskatchewan and Matty Beniers of Hingham, Massachusetts to put the Kraken up 3-2 at the time.
Michael Eyssimont
The Kraken are Eyssimont’s fourth NHL team. He was previously with the Winnipeg Jets from 2021 to 2023, the San Jose Sharks in 2023, and the Tampa Bay Lightning for three seasons since 2023. In 57 games, Eyssimont had five goals and five assists for 10 points with the Lightning this season. He had 44 penalty minutes, one game-winning goal, 98 shots on goal. one faceoff win, 19 blocked shots, 82 hits, six takeaways, and 22 giveaways.
The game-winning goal came on January 9 in a 4-1 Lightning win over the Boston Bruins. Eyssimont scored from Nick Paul of Mississauga, Ontario and defenseman Ryan McDonsgh of St. Paul, Minnesota with 50 seconds left in the second period to put Tampa Bay up 2-0 at the time.
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