Kraken's Yanni Gourde out 5-7 weeks after surgery

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JANUARY 02: Yanni Gourde #37 of the Seattle Kraken warms up ahead of a game against the Vancouver Canucks at Climate Pledge Arena on January 02, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Christopher Mast / NHLI / Getty Images)

Seattle Kraken forward Yanni Gourde is expected to miss 5–7 weeks after surgery Friday morning for a sports hernia.

Gourde, 33, has been out of the lineup for Seattle since a 4-3 shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks on January 2. Gourde has missed the team's last 14 games and 18 total games this season. Gourde has appeared in 35 games for Seattle this year, recording six goals and 10 assists.

With the NHL trade deadline five weeks away, Gourde will likely be unable to play in another game for Seattle before the deadline passes. In the final year of his contract with the Kraken, Gourde was expected to be one of Seattle's more desirable assets for teams in the playoff mix. But without being able to play again before the deadline, that option may no longer exist for the Kraken.

The Kraken are 16-16-3 in 35 games played with Gourde in the lineup this season, and 7-11 in 18 games without him in the lineup. Between Gourde and captain Jordan Eberle, who has missed 36 games due to a pelvic injury in November, the Kraken have been without two of their key pieces for a significant portion of the year.

What's next:

The Kraken will host the Calgary Flames at 6 p.m. on Sunday night for their second meeting of the season. Seattle earned a 2-1 victory over the Flames in overtime in October. Calgary just completed a trade Thursday night to acquire forwards Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for forwards Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier, and two future draft picks.

The Source: Announcement by the Seattle Kraken.