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Yanni Gourde, Tampa Bay Lightning (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Reviewing the Lightning’s Trade Deadline Acquistions After 10 Games

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Jim Bay | Last updated Mar 27, 2025 1:30 PM ET

Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde were traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning as part of a three-team trade also involving the Seattle Kraken and Detroit Red Wings on March 6. Gourde was traded to the Red Wings for unsigned defenseman Kyle Aucoin. The Red Wings, who retained 50 percent of Gourde’s contract, then traded him to the Lightning for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

The Kraken received forward Michael Eyssimont, a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and the 2027 NHL Draft, and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft from the Lightning for Bjorkstrand, Aucoin, and a fifth-round pick in 2026. Each of the two first-round picks is top-10 protected.

Bjorkstrand and Gourde were expected to be additions, allowing the Lightning to improve their playoff position and make a deep run in this season’s playoffs. Here’s a look at how these two new acquisitions have performed since joining the team.

Yanni Gourde

The 33-year-old has yet to score but has five assists in his first 10 games, including a two-assist night on March 15 against the Boston Bruins. While this is similar to the rate of points he produced in Seattle, Gourde brings a gritty, in-your-face, hard-nosed style and is even smarter than he was during his first stint with the Lightning, having played under head coach Jon Cooper and knowing most of the core players.

Gourde has also become a more vocal teammate since he was taken by the Kraken in the expansion draft in 2021. “He is extremely vocal on the bench all the time now, and it’s really refreshing,” Cooper told The Hockey News. “I don’t remember him being like that, but it is very noticeable and very welcoming.”

He may not be the player he was when he scored 22 goals for the Lightning in the 2018-19 season, but his relentless style and leadership in the room have already been felt.

Oliver Bjorkstrand

After a six-game point drought, Bjorkstrand has picked up assists in two of his last three games. He scored his first and only goal in his first game with the Lightning on March 6 against the Buffalo Sabres. That gives him three points in his first ten games in a Lightning sweater, which was not at the same pace he was scoring when he had 37 points (16 goals, 21 assists) in 61 games with the Kraken. It is not exactly the start the Lightning hoped for when they acquired him in the final year of a five-year, $27 million contract ($5.4 million AAV) signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2021.

Bjorkstrand likely needs time to get used to his new teammates and the Lightning system. This also explains why his ice time is down by more than a minute per game since joining the team. In recent years, there has been a transition period for some of the Lightning’s newly acquired players at the trade deadline, with the most recent example being Brandon Hagel. Unfortunately, the organization may not get that extra time to see if Bjorkstrand adjusts, as he is a free agent at the end of the season.

How the Team Has Fared After the Trade Deadline

In their last ten games, the Lightning are 5-4-1 but still sit in third place in the Atlantic Division, just two points away from the top two teams, the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs, as of March 27. While they have a comfortable eight-point lead on their closest rival for a playoff spot, the Ottawa Senators, keeping that lead while pushing the division leaders requires at least a .500 record down the stretch.

While many hope Bjorkstrand can pick up the pace in the Lightning’s final games, there is still room for improvement from the bottom-six forward group and backup goaltending. Jonas Johansson has a 3.12 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage. Brandon Halverson, recently called up for their American Hockey League affiliate in Syracuse, looked nervous and tentative in allowing five goals to the Utah Hockey Club on March 22.

The Lightning have eleven games left in the regular season, which is just enough time for the new acquisitions and the rest of the team to gel even further and put the team in a position to make a deep run in this season’s playoffs.