Yanni Gourde returned to the lineup for the Kraken on Tuesday after missing two months with an injury. Will it be the last time he puts on a Seattle sweater?

Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand waited for three hours — until two players cleared waivers for the Lightning — before they could be informed they were heading to Tampa Bay as the main pieces of a three-team trade that also included the Red Wings.

The Lighting paid a steep price — two first-round picks — for Gourde and Bjorkstrand but they're two players who should fit in perfectly.

The Tampa Bay Lightning sent a bunch of picks to the Seattle Kraken for two key depth pieces, proving they think they have a shot at winning the East -- and that makes sense! Do we really believe the Leafs, the Caps or the Devils can win the conference? Are the Hurricanes and Panthers for real?

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.

As Tampa Bay was winning a pair of Stanley Cups, it was the 5-foot-9 Yanni Gourde who often energized the Amalie Arena crowd.

The Tampa Bay Lightning organization believes that adding two elite forwards Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand will be the push they need to make a deep playoff run.