Why the trade for Gourde, Bjorkstrand made sense for the Lightning
Despite being four years removed from their last Stanley Cup championship in 2021, the Tampa Bay Lightning aren’t a team anyone would want to match up with in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Especially after they brought back a familiar face in center Yanni Gourde and right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand in a Wednesday trade with the Seattle Kraken and Detroit Red Wings.
While the Lightning gave up ample assets, general manager Julien BriseBois looks to be hoping to extend their Stanley Cup window, as they sit third in the Atlantic Division, just three points back of the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs, tied at 79 points atop the standings.
Gourde returns after playing six seasons with the Lightning, helping them to their 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cups, as Bjorkstrand joins, having scored 16 goals and 21 points in 61 games this season.
On Thursday’s Episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk dove into the Lightning’s trade and how good Tampa Bay could be down the stretch.
Tyler Yaremchuk: “It doesn’t scare me as much as a potential Round One matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning, which is exactly what one of the Florida or Toronto are staring down… Focusing on Tampa Bay, I love the line from Julien BriseBois, who said ‘I’d rather have a lineup of good players than a bank of good draft picks.’
Frank Seravalli: “I still think a significant price to pay, and those two things can be true at the same time… No roster in the moment trying to win a Stanley Cup ever cares about first-round picks that are out the door, that are very also likely to be late in the first round.
“They bring back a familiar face with Yanni Gourde, who stepped on the ice today wearing his familiar No. 37 with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and they bring back a guy that they believe they can extend. Bjorkstrand has term on his deal, so that justified the cost for them that essentially, the way they’re thinking about it, is these are two guys that are going to be under contract. I think, certainly diminishes the risk on their part.
“You look at their lineup moving forward, I believe they’re a team that – now swapping out Steven Stamkos for Jake Guentzel – is really well positioned moving forward with [Brandon] Hagel and [Anthony] Cirelli and [Nick] Paul and obviously [Nikita] Kucherov and [Brayden] Point that, why can’t it be the Tampa Bay Lightning that breaks through to be that team that wins the Stanley Cup again?”
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…