Amidst a rocky season, the Seattle Kraken have recently been mentioned in trade rumors. Not because of someone they’re actively seeking, but rather because there is a player on the roster who strikes another team’s fancy. As per veteran NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, the Toronto Maple Leafs have taken a liking to Seattle forward Yanni Gourde (From ‘NHL trade matchmaker: Predicting where top targets go by the deadline, part 1‘ – The Athletic, Dec 26, 2024). The Kraken should do what they can to avoid losing Gourde, at least for this season. Let’s discuss.
Why the Maple Leafs Want Gourde
Unless one hasn’t been paying attention, the Maple Leafs and Kraken are not on equal footing these days. The latter are stuck in a period of mediocrity after missing the postseason in 2023-24, making significant changes with their staff and player personnel in the summer, yet remaining on the outside looking in as the new year looms.
On the other end of the spectrum, Toronto is in yet another seemingly positive campaign. They’re playoff-bound every year, but they struggle to extend their Stanley Cup run beyond the opening round, save in 2022-23 when they immediately lost at the second stage anyway. They too, made a head coaching change during the offseason and, to their credit, are playing with more grit and character this season. A player of Yanni Gourde’s quality could be what the Leafs need to complement their star-studded lineup of highly skilled players.
According to the reports, the Kraken would receive a fifth-round draft pick in 2025, David Kampf and Alex Steeves.
Why would Gourde agree to be traded? After all, his current contract features a 23-team no-trade clause. From his perspective, it would be a chance to live out the final years of his career with a franchise that has immediate Cup ambitions. Toronto keeps knocking on the door, only for it to be slammed in their face every season. It’s important to keep in mind that the Québec-native has two rings thanks to his time with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who won it all in 2019-20 and 2020-21. Winning feels nice, and if provided with a good opportunity to win again, it’s easy to see why he’d be interested in leaving the Pacific Northwest.
Why the Kraken Need to Keep Gourde
More than once this season – especially after a few of the side’s dispiriting defeats – we have bemoaned the roster’s relative lack of grit. No one fears the Kraken. No teams worry about getting pushed around when they take note that Seattle is their next opponent on the schedule.
That’s one of the reasons why someone like the 33-year-old veteran is essential to help carry the team through the remainder of the season. Gourde encapsulates so much of what the current iteration of the team lacks. He brings some moxie to the ice and isn’t afraid to get down and dirty. What’s more, no one intimidates him. Remember when he didn’t take kindly to Connor McDavid in a game versus the Edmonton Oilers in January 2024? The shift concluded with him plastering Mattias Ekholm against the boards.
Related: 4 Kraken Players Who Need to Step Up in the New Year
Now, the referees didn’t take kindly to that either, which resulted in a game misconduct. True enough, Gourde did go a bit high on Ekholm. Although the big Swede was only grazed, the hit was perilously close to producing a far worse result. But game misconduct aside, Seattle needs players of his quality.
This season he’s first on the team in penalty minutes (26) and second for penalty minutes drawn (24). He’s involved in scraps and plays with a ton of pride.
He also has a knack for being in the right spot in big moments. Looking back at his Lightning career, he scored the series-clinching goal in Game 7 of the 2021 Stanley Cup semifinal against the New York Islanders. In the Kraken’s 2023 playoff run, he netted the overtime winner in Game 1 of the second round versus the Dallas Stars.
Even this season he’s been involved in some critical moments. Look no further than during the team’s 5-2 win over the Utah Hockey Club on Monday (Dec. 30). His late first-period marker leveled the terms at 1-1 and helped turn the tide.
In a nutshell, Gourde is representative of the player everyone hates if they have to play against them but loves to have on their side. Frankly, Seattle doesn’t have a lot of those this season, so why deal one away?
Toronto’s Offer Isn’t Good Enough
Supposing Gourde is genuinely open to waiving his no-trade clause. Fair enough. What of the package the Kraken would receive in return?
A fifth-round selection at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. Okay. Seattle picked eight players last summer in Las Vegas, and it’s widely documented that they have a particularly deep prospect pool. We wrote just before Christmas about the impressive number of young guns representing their countries at the 2025 World Junior Championship.
Next up, Kampf. A fourth-line center, 29 years old, and an eight-year NHL veteran. This is basically a fourth-line grinder being traded for another. But is it a fair trade? That depends on who one asks. By the time Gourde was in his seventh and eighth campaigns in the NHL, he was tallying 48 points (both times). Kampf has never surpassed 27. He’s younger, but what does Seattle want? A slightly older but still very wily, active center who can sneak in some goals, come to the defense of his teammates, and, most importantly, teach a thing or two about winning, or a slightly younger center just because he’s, well, slightly younger.
Lastly, with all due respect to Steeves, Seattle doesn’t need a 25-year-old American Hockey Leaguer. The team barely knows how to utilize the AHLers it calls up (Gustav Olofsson is back with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, again).
To be perfectly clear, it’s not that the Maple Leafs are offering the worst package in the world. It’s fine. But in exchange for a player like Gourde, why does Seattle need those pieces?
Perhaps general manager (GM) Ron Francis is tempted to pull the trigger. One assumes he and Gourde have had or are having conversations about the matter. If Gourde wants to walk away next July (he’ll be an unrestricted free agent), so be it, but now is not the time for the Kraken to let go of a diamond in the rough. Keep him around, let him guide the likes of Tye Kartye, Shane Wright, and Matty Beniers. In any case, the trade deadline isn’t before March 7. There is a ton of hockey to be played between now and then for Seattle to figure out what they are in 2024-25.
