The Seattle Kraken have a healthy roster for the first time since the beginning of the season. Ahead of tonight’s contest against the Minnesota Wild, the Kraken announced they’ve activated Yanni Gourde from the long-term injured reserve. In a corresponding roster move, Seattle reassigned Ben Meyers to their AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
After undergoing surgery to repair a hernia on the last day of January, Gourde’s projected recovery timeline was approximately five to seven weeks. On the shorter end of the spectrum, it was believed Gourde would return on March 7th at the earliest possible time, but he’ll beat that projection by a few days.
Gourde has been an oft-mentioned trade candidate throughout deadline season, even through his surgery recovery. He’s on the last season of a six-year, $31MM contract and may come a lot cheaper should the Kraken retain 50% of his remaining salary in a hypothetical trade. Given that anything can change during this time of the NHL calendar, it’s also unsurprising that TSN’s Pierre LeBrun mentioned a few days ago that Seattle hasn’t shut the door on an extension for Gourde.
Unfortunately, Gourde will return to one of the worst offensive seasons of his career. The two-time Stanley Cup champion has six goals and 16 points in 35 games with the Kraken this year. The one-month absence won’t help him much in expanding those totals, but he still has plenty of value on the defensive side of the puck.
Since becoming a full-time player for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2017-18 campaign, Gourde has maintained a 48.9% success rate in the faceott dot. He’s mildly beating that performance this year with a 49.9% rate. Additionally, Gourde is again averaging approximately one blocked shot and two hits per game. His metrics are solid, too, with a 51.4% CorsiFor% at even strength and an impressive 97.9% on-ice save percentage at even strength. If any contending team is looking for a consistent bottom-six center — Gourde should be their target.
Meanwhile, Meyers returns to Coachella Valley after a brief call-up. He’s gone scoreless over seven games with the Kraken this season, averaging 8:10 of ice time per game. He’s been understandably better at the AHL level, scoring 19 goals and 40 points in 45 games for the Firebirds.
Go get ‘em Yanni. Bolts fans hope you find your way back to Tampa.
I like Gourde (33 years old) but he’s declining. Tampa has better options on the market to choose from before even remotely considering Gourde as an option. Tampa typically targets players who are in their mid-to-late 20s during the trade deadline.
The market for Gourde will be interesting. Is he the 3rd line shutdown C some teams out there are looking for?
The Caps want an upgrade on Eller. Gourde offers more offense but do you trust him with tougher matchups than Eller’s been getting?
Gourde would be an upgrade on Domi at 3C in Toronto. But enough of one to take on all of Tavares’ matchups in a playoff series against the Bolts or Panthers? I doubt it.
Jets want more of a 2C.
Do the Avs go for depth (Gourde) or look for more of an impact forward?
Or maybe the Wild really lean into a bottom-6 that hits everything and drops the mitts. Hartman, Gourde, Foligno, Trenin is a pretty physical group.