Once again, the Tampa Bay Lightning pushed whatever chips they had to the center of the table and made a move to improve their team. The price was a costly one, but Julien BriseBois acquired two players that he hopes can help the Lightning today and tomorrow. If Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand are the final pieces to the puzzle, then a couple of first round picks won’t mean a thing when the banner goes up before next season. If not, well, it’ll be another long summer of what could have been.
Mr. BriseBois spoke to the press following the deal, and the central theme to the discussion was that the two players make the team better today, not only with the talent that they’ll bring to the Lightning, but also that it “pushes players down in the line-up”.