Gourde, Bjorkstrand to Bolts; Kraken get 2 No. 1s

The Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday acquired forwards Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand from the Seattle Kraken in an aggressive move ahead of Friday's NHL trade deadline.

The Lightning sent two first-round picks (2026 and 2027), a 2025 second-round pick belonging to Toronto (previously acquired from Utah) and forward Michael Eyssimont to the Kraken for Gourde, Bjorkstrand and a 2026 fifth-round pick.

"We're adding two players that are going to play significant minutes for us and two players that are highly competitive, have had success in the postseason in the past, have raised, have elevated their game when it matters most," Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois said. "They're skilled. They can play 200-foot games. They can be used in all sorts of situations."

Both of the first-round picks sent to Seattle are top-10 protected. If the 2026 or 2027 pick becomes a 2028 pick due to being in the top 10, Seattle receives an additional third-round pick in 2028. If both picks slide to 2028 and 2029, respectively, Seattle receives a third-round pick in 2028 and a third-round pick in 2029.

To facilitate the trade, both the Kraken and the Detroit Red Wings retained part of Gourde's salary. The Kraken retained 50% of Gourde's $5,166,666 salary cap hit. The Red Wings retained 25% of his salary, meaning the Lightning will have 25% of Gourde's salary count against their cap.

Detroit will receive the earlier selection between Tampa Bay's 2025 fourth-round pick or Edmonton's 2025 fourth-round pick, which the Lightning acquired last May. To complete the trade, the Red Wings sent defenseman Kyle Aucoin -- who was selected No. 156 overall in the 2020 NHL draft but is currently at Harvard University -- to Seattle, who then moved him to the Lightning.

The trade reunites the 33-year-old Gourde with the Lightning, where he played six seasons and was an integral part of back-to-back Stanley Cup championship teams in 2020 and 2021 as the center of a dominant checking line featuring Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow. He had 187 points in 310 games for Tampa Bay from 2015-16 through 2020-21 before he was selected by the Kraken in the expansion draft.

Gourde returned Tuesday from sports hernia surgery, which had kept him sidelined since Jan. 2. He's an unrestricted free agent this summer and was one of the better centers available at the deadline with an expiring contract.

Bjorkstrand, 29, was acquired by Seattle in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets in July 2022. He has scored at least 20 goals in five of his previous six seasons. Through 61 games this season, Bjorkstrand has 16 goals and 21 assists while averaging 15:28 per game. The winger is signed through next season with a $5.4 million cap hit.

"Oliver and Yanni were tremendous players for our organization who led by example on and off the ice, and I wish them all the best in their next chapter with the Lightning," Kraken general manager Ron Francis said. "Decisions like these are never easy, but creating this valuable cap space and draft capital allows us to be active in improving our team moving forward."

The Lightning are third in the Atlantic Division (76 points) and could face either the Maple Leafs or the Florida Panthers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, based on the current Eastern Conference standings.

This is yet another aggressive deadline move for BriseBois, who sent two first-rounders to the Chicago Blackhawks for Brandon Hagel in 2022 and five draft picks to the Nashville Predators for forward Tanner Jeannot in 2023.

After this deal, the Lightning don't have a first-round pick until 2028.

"I'd rather have a lineup full of good players than a bank of a ton of draft picks because I think ultimately what we're trying to do is win hockey games," BriseBois said. "What guides us, what drives us is trying to win a championship and that's really hard."

The Kraken are headed to their second straight season outside the playoffs in the Western Conference.