Revisiting Lightning’s Trade for Oliver Bjorkstrand & Yanni Gourde – The Hockey Writers – Tampa Bay Lightning

It’s March 5, 2025. The Tampa Bay Lightning are ready to make an all-in push for another Stanley Cup and pull the trigger on a three-way deal with the Seattle Kraken and the Detroit Red Wings. The highlight of the deal saw the Lightning acquire forwards Oliver Bjorstrand and Yanni Gourde – Gourde had been part of their back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. They also received a 2026 fifth-round pick.

The Kraken, meanwhile, received the Lightning’s 2026 and 2027 first-round picks, a 2025 second-round pick (belonging to the Toronto Maple Leafs) and forward Mickey Eyssimont. Once again, the Lightning were handing over top draft capital for win-now pieces.

In exchange for retaining some salary, the Red Wings, led by former Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman, received a 2025 fourth-round pick from the Lightning and gave the Kraken defenseman Kyle Aucoin, who was then sent to the Lightning. There were a lot of moving parts, so here’s a look at how the Lightning came out of this deal as the team that made the big deadline splash.

How This Trade Has Panned Out for the Lightning

Gourde is sticking around for the long haul. He signed a six-year extension in June 2025 and is under contract through the 2030-31 season with a low cap hit of roughly $2.3 million. If the Lightning decide they’re ready to move on, it shouldn’t be hard.

Last season, he played all 82 games, scoring nine goals and 28 points. He stood out defensively, finishing 10th in the Selke Trophy voting – the first time he received votes since the 2022-23 season.

Meanwhile, the addition of Bjorkstrand didn’t pan out. Before the playoffs, Bjorkstrand suffered a season-ending injury and had to be rushed to the hospital to undergo surgery for a condition called compartment syndrome. Fortunately, he’s fine, or I would not have felt comfortable mentioning it, but he missed the playoffs that season.

The following season, he was expected to boost the middle six. It didn’t happen. He scored 12 goals and 32 points, compared to the previous four seasons when he had had at least 45 points and as many as 59. With an annual cap hit of $5.4 million, the writing was on the wall, and the Lightning let him walk when his deal expired. He signed a one-year $4.5 million deal with the New York Rangers on July 1.

As for Aucoin, he’s not with the Lightning anymore either. The 2020 sixth-round pick played four years at Harvard and then joined Miami (OH) for the 2025-26 season and turned pro as a member of the ECHL’s Indy Fuel toward the end of that campaign. It’s unclear where he is now. His contract with the Fuel was for 2025-26, and his social media pages didn’t provide any clues to draw from.

Lightning Indirectly Help Rivals

Here’s a twist. While the Lightning’s 2026 first-round pick was sent to the Kraken in this trade, they were not the team that used the pick on draft night. The pick was sent to the Florida Panthers, and they used it in exchange for Brady Tkachuk. That is correct. A major splash from this offseason was helped in part by the Lightning’s deadline splash.

So, not only did this trade not help the Lightning beat the Panthers, but the Panthers also got one of Tampa Bay’s picks to acquire another Tkachuk. Whether or not the Panthers are a better team now is up for debate, but it’s not ideal that the Lightning helped them land a star.

Furthermore, Eyssimont signed with the Boston Bruins as a free agent in July 2025. This trade likely didn’t impact that move, but it’s still a former Lightning player who landed with an archrival.

Bjorkstrand & Gourde Trade Doesn’t End There

There is still a draft pick that hasn’t been used. The 2027 first-round pick is technically top-10 protected, so if the Lightning somehow bottom out this season, they will get the pick back, and the Kraken get an additional third-round pick in 2028. Otherwise, expect the Kraken to utilize the pick on draft night.

The Senators used the 2026 first-round pick, 25th overall, to select right-winger Jonas Lagerberg Hoen. It will be a while before we know how that will impact a division rival.

Overall, the trade looked great at the time, but proved to be lackluster in the end. Bjorkstrand battled a major injury and missed the playoffs. Then, he was unproductive, and the Lightning let him walk. They essentially paid a fee to get Gourde back early.

Unfortunately, it didn’t pan out, given the potential of this deal, and it should be a warning about how to handle future first-round picks differently. For a time, that aggressive mindset was worth it. It netted them key pieces such as Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow and Brandon Hagel. Recently, it hasn’t worked as planned. Eventually, the Lightning will need to look to the future. While they have done well without first-round picks, they’ll need to select from the cream of the crop eventually.