The Seattle Kraken roster reconstruction began Wednesday with a blockbuster.
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Forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde, who both played in Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to Minnesota, have been traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning, along with a 2026 5th round pick.
In exchange, Seattle receives Tampa’s 1st round pick in 2026 and 2027, plus a 2025 2nd round pick the Lightning acquired from Toronto.
The Kraken also get 28-year old Mikey Eyssimont, a 6-0, 191 pound center who has played 193 games with Winnipeg, San Jose, and Tampa Bay.
Eyssimont will be in uniform when the Kraken play in Nashville on Thursday, but as an unrestricted free agent is uncertain to remain in Seattle past this season.
Here’s what our colleagues at RawCharge.com wrote about Eyssimont. “He plays hard, he creates chances, and hits everything on the ice that is moving. One thing he didn’t do is translate the offensive chances he created into actual goals (5 goals against a 9.01 xG at 5v5 this season).”
To assure a full roster for Thursday, Seattle also recalled forwards Ben Meyers and Jacob Melanson from AHL Coachella Valley.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reacted to the trade with a social media “exploding head” emoji.
“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 in a statement.
“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. In addition, we welcome Michael Eyssimont to the group. He’s a versatile, hardworking forward who can join our lineup immediately.”
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Gourde had only returned to the Kraken lineup Tuesday, contributing an assist, in his first game action in two months. In the interim, he had sports hernia surgery.
Asked after the game about trade rumors, Gourde said, “I’m focusing on what I can control. We’ll see what happens.”
What happened was a return to the Lightning, where Gourde won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. Gourde was an original Kraken, left unprotected by Tampa and selected in the 2021 expansion draft. He finishes his career in Seattle with 271 games played, 52 goals, 94 assists, and a feisty 219 penalty minutes.
Michael Russo of The Athletic considered Tuesday’s game a Gourde showcase. “Yanni Gourde, for him to come back so soon after surgery at the end of January shows he was ready to move on,” Russo said on NHL Network.
“He was a thorn in the Wild’s side throughout that game. He was motivated to show that he’s the same type of player. (The Lightning) have missed him since he was gone.”
A fan favorite, the 33-year-old center brought veteran savvy, playmaking, and a willingness to rile up opponents. But his $5.17 million AAV contract was set to expire at season’s end. If Seattle had failed to trade or re-sign Gourde, they risked losing him for nothing in free agency.
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Oliver Bjorkstrand was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets before the 2022-23 season for 2023 3rd and 4th round draft picks. The 10-year veteran scored 56 goals and 85 assists (including one vs. the Wild) in 224 career Kraken games. He was Seattle’s representative to the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, a season in which he reached 20 goals for the 5th time in his career.
Bjorkstrand will forever live in Kraken history for scoring both Seattle goals in Game 7 of a 2023 first round playoff series, beating the defending Cup champion Colorado Avalanche 2-1. The native of Denmark has one year remaining on a $5.4 million AAV contract.
As Francis mentioned in his statement, creating more than $10 million of cap space was the major motivation in this trade. The Kraken are all but guaranteed to miss the playoffs for the second straight season, so a major lineup retooling was expected.
The team needed to create roster space for the next wave of prospects up from AHL Coachella Valley. Francis, should he choose, can also search the market for free agents this summer. And, Seattle may never use the Tampa picks, as they are capital which could be spent on further trades.
Technically, this was a three-team trade. Gourde was originally traded to Detroit. The Red Wings retaining 50% of his salary in exchange for a Tampa draft pick – and the Kraken retaining the other 50% – allowed the Lightning to fit Gourde under the salary cap.
More fine print: both Tampa 1st rounders 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.