Looking at Tampa Bay Lightning's depth chart, salary cap & remaining draft picks after Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand trade

The Tampa Bay Lightning got into the trade deadline fray by re-acquiring Yanni Gourde and adding forward Oliver Bjorsktrand from the Seattle Kraken in a three-team deal that involved the Detroit Red Wings as a third-party broker.

In exchange, the Lightning sent two top-10 protected picks to the Kraken, their 2026 and 2027 first-round selections, along with a Michael Eyssimont, and 2025 second-rounder. Detroit gets a 2025 fourth-rounder for Tampa as a thank-you for retaining 25% of Gourde’s cap hit. The Kraken also retained 50% on Gourde.

Overall, this deal addresses a positional need for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Gourde was a member of the Bolts’ 2020 and 2021 Cup-winning teams and fills a hole at 3C. According to Daily Faceoff’s projection, Gourde slides in with Nick Paul and Gage Goncalves in what could be a spirited third line.

As for Bjorkstrand, Daily Faceoff projects him on the second line with Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli. The Lightning hope Bjorkstrand can provide secondary scoring behind the top line of Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point, and Nikita Kucherov. Playing with Cirelli should give Bjorkstrand a boost, potentially making him a serious offensive threat down the stretch and into the postseason.

Looking at Tampa Bay Lightning’s salary cap situation and remaining draft picks

The Tampa Bay Lightning gave up a significant number of draft picks to get this deal done. In total, the Lightning gave up four picks, leaving them without a first-round pick until 2028. The Bolts do hold their picks in 2025, except for a third-round selection. The second-rounder from Wednesday’s trade belonged to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Bolts also hold all of their picks in 2026, except for their first-rounder. In 2027, the Bolts don’t have a first and fifth-round selection.

As for the Tampa Bay Lightning’s salary cap situation, PuckPedia projects $781K in cap space. After retentions, Gourde costs $1.29 million against the cap, while Bjorkstrand $5.40 million. Michael Eyssimont has an $800K cap hit. He was likely included as the Kraken wanted another player to fill out the roster and give the Bolts some wiggle room under the cap.

Overall, the Tampa Bay Lightning won’t be able to add any more pieces unless they unload their salary. It’s unclear if the Bolts are done. But if they have another deal up their sleeve, they will have to move another player to clear up cap space.

Additionally, the loss of two first-round picks may come back to haunt the Lightning. However, the picks are top-10 protected, meaning that if they slide into the top 10 lottery spots, the Kraken will get Tampa’s first-rounder in 2029 as compensation.

If the Bolts end up winning the Stanley Cup this season, the price paid for Gourde and Bjorkstrand would be justifiable.