Oilers One Of Three Canadian Teams Linked to Stanley Cup Champion Center
It appears the Edmonton Oilers are one of three Canadian teams that are highly interested in acquiring former Stanley Cup champion Yanni Gourde, who's currently with Seattle.
It was revealed earlier this week that Gourde has expressed the desire to go to a cup contender which includes the Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Pierre lebrun of the athletic mentioned that Gourde is even willing to waive his no trade clause to go to the Maple Leafs.
Adding a player of his caliber would certainly help the Oilers especially in the 3rd line center position.
The 33-year-old was instrumental in helping the Tampa Bay Lightning win their 2 Stanley cups over the past several years and would bring great experience to the Oilers as they try to close the gap to winning the Stanley Cup.
The undrafted center has only played for two teams in his career which were the Lightning and the Kraken. He has seen his production drop over the past couple of years as the crack and have not been able to score many goals due to the lack of scoring power in their forward lines.
I feel that his offense ability would be reignited with the Oilers and would give the team more depth, experience and goal scoring as he was a steady 15 to 25 goal scorer every year.
To acquire his services, Seattle would need to retain some of his salary as he currently holds a $5.16 million cap hit in the final year of his deal of his deal and likely draft picks would head back to the Kraken.
Being healthy and still a productive member in hockey, there's a strong possibility that the Oilers could retain him for the long haul and keep him for a couple more years.
Adding a center to their secondary lines is a priority for the Oilers and its safe to say Gourde would be a good choice and blocking the Canucks and the Maple Leafs from getting what they need.
