After much speculation, and galaxy-brain level side deal arrangements, the Seattle Kraken stuck with a keep-it-simple philosophy and choose the best player available to them from the Tampa Bay Lightning’s allowed list - Yanni Gourde. The 29-year-old center will, barring any trades or free agent acquisitions by the league’s newest team, slot in as one of their top-two centers next season.
For most of the offseason, it was expected that Seattle would take the Quebec native and it was all but settled when the Lightning decided to protect defenseman Ryan McDonagh instead of Gourde. The team’s salary crunch and depth at forward likely factored into their decision not to protect the two-time 20-goal scorer.