TAMPA -- Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois has never been hesitant to trade first-round draft picks in the name of trying to win a Stanley Cup now.
And in what had become a seller's market ahead of Friday's 3 p.m. NHL trade deadline, it became apparent that would likely be the price he'd have to pay.
But over the past five weeks, this Lightning team has established itself as a Cup contender, and it only fueled BriseBois to do all he could to help pave the way for another deep postseason run.
A little less than 48 hours before the deadline, the Lightning struck with a trade that addressed their focus on adding a two-way forward who can supplement their recent stellar defensive play while also providing more scoring punch to their middle six-forward group.
The Lightning re-acquired forward Yanni Gourde, who was a major piece of their back-to-back Stanley Cup teams, and forward Oliver Bjorkstrand from the Seattle Kraken.
The Lightning sent two first-round picks -- in 2026 and 2027 -- to the Kraken as well as bottom-six forward Mikey Eyssimont and Toronto's second-round pick this summer, which was acquired in last year's Mikhail Sergachev trade. Tampa Bay also received Seattle's fifth-round pick in 2026.
The Kraken retains 50% of Gourde's salary -- he carries a $5.16 million annual cap hit -- and Detroit will take 25%, with the Red Wings getting the higher of the Lightning's fourth-round pick in 2025 or the 2025 fourth-round pick they acquired from Edmonton last May. The Lightning also acquired unsigned defenseman Kyle Aucoin, currently playing at Harvard, from the Red Wings.
According to PuckPedia, the Lightning can still fit in a player with an $819,000 annual cap hit at the deadline.
Now the Lightning don't have a first-round pick until 2028.
The reunion with Gourde, who was selected by the Kraken in the 2021 expansion draft, is notable because he was a Lightning fan favorite as the engine of some of the Lightning's best teams, but the acquisition of the 28-year-old Bjorkstrand could be more impactful on the ice.
Bjorkstrand uniquely fits the mold of the kind of players BriseBois pursues at this point of the season, those who will make the Lightning tougher to play against down the stretch and in the postseason. He has been a 50-point scorer -- he currently has 16 goals and 37 points in 61 games this season with Seattle -- but is also a strong defender and forechecker and should slot in well in the right wing position on the Lightning's matchup line with Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli.
He also provides the Lightning with another right-handed shooter in a lineup full of lefties, and a potential solution to the left-circle hole on the top power-play unit that the team has struggled to fill all season since Steven Stamkos' departure. Also, Bjorkstrand is signed through the 2026-27 season, so the Lightning get the potential of two postseason runs with him as a reasonable $5.4 million cap hit before hitting free agency.
Gourde is 33 and has been limited to 36 games this season due to injury and is a pending unrestricted free agent, but he slots well into the Lightning's third line centered by Nick Paul. Gourde had six goals and 17 points with the Kraken and just returned from sports hernia surgery Tuesday; that was his first game in two months.
Both players are expected to be in the Lightning lineup for Thursday's game against Buffalo at Amalie Arena.
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