Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Assign Yanni Gourde To Syracuse Crunch
After last night’s incredible 5-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators, the Tampa Bay Lightning has re-assigned forward Yanni Gourde to the Syracuse Crunch.
The Tampa Bay Lightning put on a pretty spectacular show last night at the Amalie Arena as the team picked up a much-needed two points in their 5-1 victory over their Atlantic Division rivals, the Ottawa Senators. Unfortunately, one person who didn’t get to take part in the action is forward Yanni Gourde.
Both Gourde and his teammates Adam Erne were called up from the Lightning’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, prior to last night’s game to make sure the Lightning’s lineup was intact after the trades of the day had been carried out.
Erne managed to mix in for recently traded forward Brian Boyle, who was sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a trade where the Lightning received AHL forward Byron Froese. Unfortunately for Gourde, he was the one chosen to sit the bench as one of the team’s healthy scratches.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Early this morning, Tampa Bay Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman announced in a press release on the Lightning’s official site, the team has re-assigned Yanni Gourde to the Syracuse Crunch. Unfortunately, the Crunch isn’t scheduled to hit the ice again until Friday night against the Hershey Bears.
The 25-year-old Quebec native has only been able to take the ice with the Lightning on two occasions this season, both of which were at the end of December against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes, respectively.
On the bright side, Gourde has been tearing up the ice this season for the Crunch. In the 53 games he’s played with the Crunch so far this season, he’s been able to bring home 20 goals and 23 assists for a total of 43 points to go along with a plus-8 rating. These numbers put Gourde in second place on the team in goals and assists and third on the team in overall points.
Unlike the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are still fighting tooth and nail for their postseason spot, the Crunch is sitting pretty at the head of the North Division. Of course, nothing is set in stone just yet. Much like the Atlantic Division in the NHL, the North Division in the AHL is a tight race, so the Crunch will need to stay on top of their game if they want to stay in their nice cushy position heading into the postseason.
Next: Trade Rumor: Valtteri Filppula Being Shopped
Hopefully, the Tampa Bay Lightning will have their injury/illness situation straightened out by the time the 3:00 p.m. NHL Trade Deadline tomorrow afternoon and the Crunch can have as complete a roster as the Lightning as they both make their way towards potential postseason play.