Lightning’s Yanni Gourde Out Until December Following Hip Surgery

The Tampa Bay Lightning will be without a key bottom-six forward through the first chunk of the 2026-27 season. In his press conference before training camp, General Manager Julien BriseBois announced (via beat writer Benjamin Pierce) that forward Yanni Gourde will be out until December after offseason hip surgery. Additionally, forward Dominic James broke his hand during offseason training and will miss a few weeks of the season.

Perpetually on the hunt for help in the bottom six, the Lightning’s depth has already become shallower ahead of training camp. Gourde, who has remained relatively healthy over the past five years, will miss Tampa Bay’s first 26 regular-season games, at the very least.

Although Gourde flirted with 50 points earlier in his career and even scored 64 in the 2017-18 season, he’s no longer that player. Last season, his first full season with the Lightning since the 2020-21 campaign, Gourde finished with nine goals and 28 points in 82 games with a -6 rating, averaging 16:22 of ice time per game. He remained physical, racking up 115 hits, while also earning a 52.2% CorsiFor at even strength. He finished 10th in Selke Trophy voting.

Meanwhile, James’ sophomore season will be delayed because of his hand fracture. He debuted for Tampa Bay last season, scoring seven goals and 15 points in 43 games with a +4 rating, averaging 12:14 of ice time per game. Remarkably, despite being uncommon for young centers, James achieved a 51.4% success rate in the faceoff circle while starting 59.6% of his shifts in the offensive zone.

Although injury troubles are always unfortunate (albeit expected) ahead of training camp, the Lightning have proven they can absorb them as well as any team. Last season, one theme of Tampa Bay’s year was the number of injuries sustained by the defensive corps. Regardless, the Lightning used their patched-together blue line to finish second in the Atlantic Division and third in the Eastern Conference.