Yanni Gourde had an emotional return to Tampa and got to leave with a hefty parting gift.
The Seattle Kraken forward, who spent six seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, was back in his old barn Friday for the first time since he helped the defending champions win their back-to-back titles. Before the game, Gourde received his second Stanley Cup ring while his former Lightning teammates gathered around him. They also posed for a team photo.
The Lightning played a tribute video for Gourde during the game. The video included on-ice highlights and several clips from their championship boat parades.
"I hope the camera didn't pan to me, my eyes were a little watery, to be honest," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "That's as loud of an ovation as you're going to get for a visiting player coming in. Shows you what a favorite he was to us."
