TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Tampa Bay Lightning organization believes that adding two elite forwards Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand will be the push they need to make a deep playoff run.
“It means the world is the winning culture here. There is a standard and you have to respect that to pay for the crescent front,” Gourde said.
Gourde won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
He’s back where he belongs.
Head Coach Jon Cooper believes Gourde is everything that being a bolt represents.
“He just has a ton of attributes that scream he is a bolt,” Cooper said. “Obviously, we have a history with him, and having the success we had, he just brings an element. His physical stature doesn’t matter, it’s the size of his heart.”
The Lightning are third in the Atlantic Division just three points behind the first place Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs.