Keeping pace in the state of Florida, the Lighting have made a big move to acquire both Yanni Gourde, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and a 2026 5^th round pick from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for firsts in 2026 and 2027, along with Toronto's 2025 2^nd round pick, and Michael Eyssimont. Seattle and Detroit both retained half of Gourde's salary in order to make the numbers work for Tampa.

The Lightning receive:

Bjorkstrand and Gourde give the Lightning two new middle-six forwards to help shore up their biggest weakness which is forward depth. Gourde only has 17 points in 36 games thus far, but has excellent possession numbers despite starting less than 40% of his shifts in the offensive zone.

Bjorkstrand has shown himself to be a 60-point player in the right situation, and while Tampa certainly increases the offence around him, the minutes are likely not there to bring him quite back to that level. He will be a big improvement over the existing depth forwards though, as none of them are a real threat to hit the 50-point plateau.

The Kraken receive:

Michael Eyssimont is the only roster player going back to Seattle, which means the Kraken take a big hit to their current on-ice talent, maybe making room for a prospect to get a trial through the end of the season.

The picks going to Seattle will help load up an already-plentiful minors system. The Kraken may take a step back this year and next, but this isn’t a full-blown rebuild, and they should be real playoff contenders from 2026-27 and beyond. 

Fantasy impact:

Gourde should slot in as the 3C, which pushes Nick Paul to the wing, but should ultimately help Paul produce, both by freeing him up as a winger, while also providing better linemate support compared to current third-line players Gage Goncalves and Mitchell Chaffee. Between the two of them and Zemgus Girgensons, two of them will be moved down to the fourth line. With Gage still being waiver exempt, there's also the possibility that he is just demoted entirely.

Bjorkstrand can be tried out on the second and third lines to see where he ends up fitting best, though it's tough to imagine him not thriving in Girg's current spot alongside Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel. Bjorkstrand should also be a great option to work with the top power play unit as they have been missing that right shot to replace Steven Stamkos. Darren Raddysh stands to lose any claim to the top power play unit with this move.

Eyssimont can take a few of Gourde’s defensive minutes, but his outlook doesn’t change much going from Tampa to Seattle. The biggest hit on the Kraken will be in net, where Joey Daccord will likely see some higher shot volume, but the wins will go down with the goals against numbers likely going up. 

There will be some extra offensive minutes opened up as well, which might be a small positive to some of the remaining top-six forwards, like Matty Beniers, Shane Wright, and Jared McCann, who can soak up some more ice time. 

Players this helps, in order:

Bjorkstrand

Gourde

Beniers/McCann/Wright

Players this hurts, in order:

Joey Daccord

Darren Raddysh

Goncalves/Girgensons/Chaffee