Gourde returns to Lightning 'like he never left' after 3-team trade

TAMPA -- Yanni Gourde returned to Amalie Arena as if he never departed the Tampa Bay Lightning. He is back in his corner stall of the locker room and will wear the same No. 37 jersey tonight against the Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m. ET; ESPN) that he wore for his first six seasons in the NHL.

It's no surprise the center was the first Lightning player on the ice for morning skate.

"He's a Bolt, he walked in here like he never left," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "When I talked to him last night you could sense the excitement through the phone. He's running the show already, so it's good to see that Yanni hasn't changed."

Gourde and forward Oliver Bjorkstrand were acquired by the Lightning from the Seattle Kraken as part of a three-team trade also involving the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday.

Gourde was traded to Detroit 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.

"It's good to be back," Gourde said. "I feel great, there's lots of excitement. It's good to be back in a Bolts jersey and see the guys. I can't wait to play."

The 33-year-old was part of the Lightning's back-to-back Stanley Cup teams in 2020 and 2021. His short-handed goal stood up in a 1-0 win against the New York Islanders in Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference Final.

He was claimed by Seattle in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft and had 146 points (52 goals, 94 assists) in 271 games through four seasons with the Kraken.

Gourde finished sixth in voting for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 2017-18, after he had 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists) in 82 games that season, and 187 points (80 goals, 107 assists) in 310 games with Tampa Bay, as well as 42 points (20 goals, 22 assists) in 83 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

He said that he knew he was being traded about three hours before he learned of his destination. As the rumors of him rejoining the Lightning began to surface, he reached out to Tampa Bay center Anthony Cirelli.

"Tony was like, 'Are you coming here?' and I'm like, 'I don't know, I wish I could tell you'," Gourde said. "But once I found out it was awesome and I'm so excited to be back here. This feels like home. There is a standard and you have to respect that. The culture here is winning and I am super excited to be back and to participate in this journey here."

Defenseman Erik Cernak was ready to welcome Gourde back with open arms.

"I won two Cups with him. Great person, great friend and I'm really happy he's back," Cernak said. "He's the same guy as he left. He's always laughing and brings the energy on the ice and off the ice. It's amazing to have him back. He has a great family and it's good to see them."

Forward Nick Paul was not with the Lightning during Gourde's first stint, but he competed against him plenty of times while playing with the Ottawa Senators and said he was excited to have him as a teammate.

"He's someone that never gives up on the play, he's always in your face," Paul said. "He's got a scoring touch. You'll never see him give up on a play or a puck battle. The guys that played with him before love him and he's someone that is going to make us a better team."

Bjorkstrand will also play Thursday; he has 37 points (16 goals, 21 assists) in 61 games this season and 375 points (167 goals, 208 assists) over nine seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Kraken and eight points (four goals, four assists) in 45 playoff games.

"I'm super happy to be here, just looking forward to getting that first game out of the way," Bjorkstrand said. "I want to play a two-way game. I want to be a reliable player they can trust and put out there in any situation. [The Lightning] have established themselves as a winning organization. There are a lot of great players in the lineup. It's a team you look at and I'm sure a lot of guys want to be a part of and that's the same for me."

Cernak said Bjorkstrand can provide another scoring option for Tampa Bay.

"I think he was another great addition to our team right now," Cernak said. "He has been in a lot of playoff games, I remember in 2019 he scored pretty much every game against us, so I'm glad he's on our team now and hopefully he's going to help us."