Former Tampa Bay Lightning forward Yanni Gourde is entering a very important season in 2024-25. The 32-year-old forward is in the final contract of his current deal and will look to have a strong season to help his chances of landing a nice payday for his next contract.
Gourde is coming off a bit of a down season with the Seattle Kraken, posting 11 goals and 33 points in 80 games. While these numbers are not necessarily bad, they were lower than his recent season totals. Thus, from here, he will be looking to bounce back with the Kraken in 2024-25.
Gourde undoubtedly has the potential to put together a strong season in 2024-25. Before this past season with the Kraken, he posted back-to-back 48-point campaigns. In addition, he also had 15 goals and 36 points in just 56 games in his final season with the Bolts in 2020-21.
If the Kraken are unable to sign Gourde to a contract extension before next offseason and he hits the market, he will be an incredibly hot commodity as a free agent. This is because he not only chips in offensively but also is strong defensively and has two Stanley Cups on his resume,
It will be interesting to see what kind of campaign Gourde has in his contract year. If he bounces back and improves his offense, a nice new deal could be on the way.
