Well, it’s official. Yanni Gourde has been selected in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft by the Seattle Kraken. Since the protection lists came out, I pretty much knew this was going to be the outcome. With all of the reports that Ron Francis was asking really high prices for side deals, and with the Tampa Bay Lightning having limited resources for such a deal, I just didn’t see that being in the cards. While Ondrej Palat or Alex Killorn would have also been solid choices for the Kraken, Gourde was one of the more obvious picks out there and a near unanimous pick of any knowledgeable mock draft.
Breaking down the Lightning 2021 roster now that Yanni Gourde is gone
