The Tampa Bay Lightning have made one other massive NHL commerce deadline transfer to maintain their aggressive window open. On Wednesday, they traded two first-round picks and extra to the Seattle Kraken for Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde. The deal improves their ahead depth however considerably hampers their future. Was it price it for the Lightning? We’ll discover out in our commerce grades.
The complete commerce has Bjorkstrand and Gourde going to the Lightning and a 2026 fifth-round decide. Seattle and Detroit are retaining 50% of Gourde’s wage as a part of a three-way deal. The Kraken are getting Tampa’s 2026 and 2027 first-round picks, a 2025 second-round decide, and ahead Mikey Eyssimont. The Crimson Wings are getting a fourth-rounder for facilitating the deal. Tampa already traded away their 2025 first-rounder for Tanner Jeannot, who’s not on the staff. The Mikko Rantanen commerce proved this can be a vendor’s market, and the Kraken took benefit.
How did the Lightning and Kraken make out on this deal? And what does it imply for the Stanley Cup race?
Ron Francis and the Kraken cross with flying colours
The Kraken have 56 factors by 62 video games with a roster they have been paying over $83 million for earlier than this deal. They didn’t get elite expertise within the growth draft and their free-agency additions have struggled to mesh. Bjorkstrand was a commerce acquisition from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a cap dump and Gourde was picked within the growth draft from the Lightning. However with the playoffs slipping away, they wanted a reset.
This shouldn’t be the tip of the Kraken’s strikes at this NHL commerce deadline. Brandon Tanev and Josh Mahura are each pending unrestricted free brokers and different gamers with time period could possibly be on the transfer. Jayden Schwartz and Jamie Oleksiak are the most important targets that purchasing groups must be . Combining any of those gamers might internet Seattle one other first-round decide.
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For this commerce, Francis and the Kraken have knocked it out of the park. They get an A+ for dumping one pending free agent, Gourde, and one participant with time period, Bjorkstrand. Any means so as to add elite expertise round Matty Beniers and Shane Wright, they must take that probability. That is the primary transfer of the teardown and extra could possibly be on the way in which.
The Lightning are going for it
The Lightning have picked within the first spherical as soon as within the 2020s, utilizing the thirty first decide within the 2022 draft on Isaac Howard. Their trades for Brandon Hagel, Jeannot, and now the Kraken forwards have drained their first-rounders. However it has been price it, with three journeys to the Cup Last and two titles in that window. This isn’t a change in course of for Tampa as they appear so as to add one other banner to the rafters.
Zemgus Girgensons and Nick Paul are good bottom-six gamers who’re requested to play up the lineup with the Lightning. Their depth has been crushed by wage cap crunches and big-name additions like Jake Guentzel. The Lightning want depth scoring to compete with the good groups within the Atlantic Division. They efficiently did that by making this commerce with the Kraken.
The Lightning get an A- for this deal, as they stuffed a necessity with nice gamers. However they paid so much to get them shortly after an identical commerce for Tanner Jeannot failed epically. Contemplating they know Gourde will probably be a great match, this can be a strong guess on a core they know can win one other Cup.
What’s going to the Lightning and Kraken do earlier than Friday’s deadline? This shouldn’t be the tip of Seattle’s firesale however could possibly be the tip of Tampa’s buying spree as a result of they’re missing belongings. If Tampa wins the Cup, they will thank this commerce for the title.