Yanni Gourde Signs With Tampa Bay Lightning
After inking Andrej Sustr to a contract extension, the Tampa Bay Lightning have also signed Yanni Gourde to a two-year one-way deal. The deal will pay him $1MM per season, and take him to unrestricted free agency in 2019. Gourde was coming off a two-way, minimum salary contract last season and was a pending Group VI unrestricted free agent.
Gourde has had an interesting path to the NHL, going undrafted out of junior before scoring 124 points in 68 games during his final year for the Victoriaville Tigres. That over-aged explosion earned him a few looks in the AHL before finally signing an entry-level contract in 2014. The 25-year old could have signed with anyone, but told Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that the Lightning “gave [him] a chance.” Overlooked no more, Gourde played 20 games in the NHL this season and recorded eight points. Though undersized, he’s proven that he can still be an effective player at the highest level, and now will likely get a shot at playing a more regular role.
Gourde and Sustr represent some of the least important free agents for the Lightning, but still have considerable impact on the fringes of the roster. Finding capable NHL talent for reasonable prices is a big part of keeping your expensive core in tact, as teams like Chicago and Pittsburgh have found out over the years. With the Lightning poised to compete next season if they can stay healthy, getting cost-certainty with contracts like this is an important first step to the offseason.
Marc Antoine Godin of La Presse was first to break the signing.
Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Sign Andrej Sustr
The Tampa Bay Lightning have come to terms with one of their depth defensemen, inking Andrej Sustr to a one-year, $1.95MM contract. Sustr was one of the team’s restricted free agents that was due a qualifying offer by today’s deadline.
Over the past few seasons, Sustr has turned into a quality option for the Lightning, icing him for around 17 minutes a night and using his huge 6’7″ frame and reach to defend responsibly. The new contract comes as a $0.5MM cap increase, and will take Sustr to unrestricted free agency next season. That is nice fit for Sustr, who with another solid season could see himself as a fairly sought-after commodity next summer.
In 274 NHL games, Sustr has recorded 56 points and is generally regarded as a fairly solid defender. His possession numbers point to an improving shot suppression skill, and at just 26 he still has time to refine his game somewhat. Though he’ll likely find himself on the third pairing for most of the season, there is a chance he can move into a bigger role should the Lightning not add another right-handed defenseman. With the team currently relying on a consistent sophomore season from Jake Dotchin, Sustr will provide some stability behind the youngster.
Tampa Bay, who a few months ago likely couldn’t have afforded to keep Sustr, now have him locked in to a reasonable cap hit and can turn their attention to the large remaining group of free agents. Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Dotchin headline a group that could take a good chunk of the summer to get under contract. With just over $20MM remaining to spend, the Lightning could also be a dark horse contender for a big name free agent should they choose to pursue one.