TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING PRESS RELEASE
TAMPA BAY -- The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed defenseman Andrej Sustr to a one-year, $1.95 million contract on Monday, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced.
Sustr, 6-foot-7, 220 pounds, appeared in 80 games with the Lightning in 2016-17, recording three goals and 14 points. He was tied for the team lead among defensemen for games played (Coburn, 80), while also ranking third among Bolts blue-liners for points and tied for third for assists. Sustr was the only Tampa Bay defenseman outside of Victor Hedman to score a game-winning goal in 2016-17.
The Plzen, Czech Republic native also played in six games for Team Czech Republic at the 2016 World Cup, netting one goal. Sustr was one of two Czech defensemen to record a goal in three tournament games.
Sustr, 26, has played in 274 career NHL games, all with the Lightning during the previous five seasons. During that time, he has recorded eight goals and 56 points with a plus-2 rating, two game-winning goals and one power-play goal. Sustr has also played in 46 career Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Bolts, recording two goals and five points with a plus-8 rating.
The Lightning signed Sustr as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha on March 21, 2013.
LIGHTNING RE-SIGN YANNI GOURDE TO TWO-YEAR, ONE-WAY CONTRACT
The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed forward Yanni Gourde to a two-year, one-way contract worth $1-million per season, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced Monday.
Gourde, 25, skated in 20 games with the Lightning during the 2016-17 season, posting six goals and eight points to go along with eight penalty minutes. The 5-foot-9, 172-pound forward scored his first career NHL goal on March 11 against the Florida Panthers. Gourde also scored in three consecutive games from March 27 through April 1. He finished the season posting five goals over his past eight games. Hes appeared in 22 career NHL games, all with the Bolts over the past two seasons, collecting six goals and nine points.
The Narcisse, Quebec native also played in 56 games with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League, registering 22 goals and 48 points to go along with 54 penalty minutes. Gourde ranked second on the Crunch for goals and third for points. He also ranked tied for first in the AHL last season with four shorthanded goals. During Syracuses Calder Cup Playoff run, Gourde posted nine goals and 27 points in 22 games. He ranked first for playoff assists and was second behind teammate Cory Conacher for points.
Gourde went undrafted and originally agreed to terms with the Lightning on March 9, 2014.
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