The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed forward Yanni Gourde to a one-year, two-way contract the team announced on Monday. The deal pays Gourde $575,000 at the NHL level and $100,000 at the AHL level, with $125,000 guaranteed, reported Cap Friendly.
Gourde, 24, made his NHL debut with the Lightning during the 2015-16 regular season when he appeared in two games and registered one assist and two penalty minutes. On December 15, 2015, Gourde played in his first NHL game, a road contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and registered his first NHL point when he assisted on Mike Blunden’s goal.
In 65 American Hockey League (AHL) games with the Syracuse Crunch that season, Gourde tallied 14 goals and 44 points. In the 2014-15 campaign, Gourde set AHL career highs in games played (76), goals (29), and points (57).
A Quebec native, Gourde played parts of four seasons with the Victoriaville Tigres of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) before he began his professional career. In 199 QMJHL games with the Tigres, Gourde compiled 74 goals and 221 points. During the 2011-12 regular season, Gourde scored 37 goals and 124 points in 68 games and received the John Beliveau Trophy as the QMJHL’s top scorer. That season, Gourde also received the Michel Briere Trophy (QMJHL MVP) and was named to the QMJHL’s first all-star team.
The 5’9″, 167-pound center was signed by the Lightning as an undrafted free agent on March 9, 2014.
