The Tampa Bay Lightning were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Losing to the Florida Panthers in the postseason is not too bad, however, as they have advanced to their third straight Stanley Cup Final. The Bolts think they can get one more title out of this core that has already won two. They put their money where their mouth is on Monday. The Lightning signed Yanni Gourde to a six-year contract worth $2.33 million per season.

The Lightning picked up Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand in a deadline-day deal with the Seattle Kraken. It brought Gourde back to the place where he won two Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. The Kraken took him in the expansion draft, where he helped them make their lone playoff appearance. Now, he is locked in with the Lightning, potentially for the rest of his career.

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Gourde is 33 years old, and this contract will take him through his age-39 season. That is well beyond what could be considered his prime, considering his defense-first play style. The Lightning are okay paying him beyond his prime because of his low cap hit. His last contract paid him $5.16 million, so this is nearly a $3 million pay cut.

The Lightning don't have much other business to do this offseason. All of their core members are signed for next season, but they do have some extensions they could dole out. Bjorkstrand and Ryan McDonagh are eligible for deals on July 1.

That means the Lightning could make a big splash for another scorer this offseason. Their offense dried up in the postseason once again, even with Jake Geuntzel in tow. According to CapWages, they have just over $5 million to spend. Could Brock Nelson or Reilly Smith come down to Tampa and add to their depth?