Name me one reason why Gourde would leave Tampa for Edmonton? No way Gourde is waiving from a potential cup contender to cup pretender.

CGY says no.

Because he clearly needs a scenery change and he’ll get good minutes in Edmonton
Edmonton is not that far off from a competitive team

He does not need a "reason" he has no choice!

He has a full no trade clause. So he actually does need a reason. The only one that's even close enough to to play with McDavid but I doubt that enough to convince a guy to move from Tampa to Edmonton.

I think anyone would want to play with mcdavid and the best duo in the league right now

Wrong he does to have a choice, Yanni Gourde has a full NTC so he has a say in where he goes. And there's no reason for him to leave warm sunny Tampa for Edmonton.

Tampa is still closer to cup contention then Edmonton right ow, Zero reason for Gourde to waive and go there.

Still not a good enough reason to waive from Tampa to Edmonton. Can't see any player with a full NTC with Tampa waiving.

I think the biggest detractor is the fact that if you trade for Gourde, he'll still have his full NTC so if he decides he's not moving anymore and still doesn't work out, you can't even trade him.

Either way Gourde isn't gonna waive unless its an incredibly good situation. Not sure EDM can guarantee he'd get to play with McDavid frankly so I'm not sure the incentive here.

You sure I think the CGY trade is fine

No it isn't. Why would they give up a 3rd round pick so their biggest rival could upgrade their forward corps? Makes no sense.

https://www.capfriendly.com/forums/thread/254633

I have always liked Gourde. However, he has lost confidence and is in a terrible slump. Last night once again he passed when he should have shot on a two on one. The 5.166 a year contract is an anchor. No one will trade for him. BTW been over 2 months since he has had a goal.

Play with McDavid and Draisaitl in Edmonton and live in a miserable amount of snow and get raped by taxes.. or play with Stamkos, Kucherov, Point, Hedman, Sergachev, Vasilevskiy, Johnson, Cirelli, etc. in Tampa where the sun shines every day with the beach minutes away and virtually no media bothering you, and tax free? ... that's a pretty easy option. Until Edmonton gets a deeper roster, they're gonna have a hard time attracting players to want to play there. It's just the reality of it

Oh, I did not know that. Then I withdraw my comment!

Tampa is better off just burying him in Syracuse. save some $ .. and try to trade him continually .... and waive him ultimately

For the record Gourde NTC is only for 2 more years .. so 10M .. I would think a team could take a flyer along with a Cernek or 2nd rounder.. if not just waive him over and over .. this should FORCE him out of town from writing on wall. He was ATROCIOUS last night and is now squarely behind Verhege with Stephens catching up..no sense making him a healthy scratch until after the trade deadline

If he got traded there, he'd instantly become the 4th best player in EDM lineup

If we'd waive him, someone would get him. No doubt in my mind.
We can all say what we want about Gourde, but if put in decent conditions (top-six) he is a serviceable 55 points, sandpaper guy.

Also, your trade proposition is obscene. Gourde doesn't hold negative value

You are delusional that Gourde is a 55 point or more guy .. he on 4th line and heading to healthy scratch for a reason.. he sucks. As I have said MANY times here to folks who played hockey.. his lack of basic hockey skills is alarming .. hence his undrafted 10 YEAR minors career .. to say he is top 6 is laughable .. my niece could have 60 pts playing with Point and Kuch .. is that your argument?.. playing with 2 of top 10 NHL players he could be 55 pts? .. I'll leave you with words of wisdom from that prophet Popeye .. "I am what I am" ..

Are you saying Gourde is a p*ssy wallflower who can't handle inclement weather?

Anyhow, as unlikely as it would be for him to waive for Edmonton, we don't know what he's thinking. And some of your narrative is slanted heavily:

live in a miserable amount of snow

This might come as a surprise to you, but Edmonton doesn't get a lot of snow comparatively. Here are some NHL cities by annual snowfall, along with Gourde's hometown. I'd say Gourde is well used to snow based on where he grew up and Edmonton's snowfall wouldn't be a hurdle for him. Lots of good players play in these cities without any issues.

Trois-Rivières: 102.0" *nearest city to Gourde's hometown
Buffalo: 94.2"
Montreal: 82.5"
Ottawa: 69.1"
Denver: 59.6"
Calgary: 50.7"
Minneapolis: 50.4"
Edmonton: 48.6"
Toronto: 47.8"
Winnipeg: 44.8"
Pittsburgh: 44.6"
Boston: 43.7"
Detroit: 43.3"
Chicago: 39.5"

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/snowfall-totals-city/
https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/Canada/Cities/snowfall-annual-average.php

and get raped by taxes

Another ignorant statement. Alberta has the lowest taxes in Canada for high-income earners and Edmonton's rates are lower than the three California teams and the NYC teams, putting Edmonton in the middle of the pack for NHL teams. If Gourde pays Canadian taxes in Quebec he's in for a pleasant surprise come April.

in Tampa where the sun shines every day

Tampa experiences 246 sunny days per year, well below the 325 that Edmonton has.

and tax free

Another misnomer. All Americans pay federal income taxes, meaning Gourde currently pays 36.32% income tax on his income. In Alberta, combined Federal and Provincial taxes amount to 47.34%, which would cost Gourde $569,367 annually. But Tampa has an 8.5% sales tax while Alberta has none, narrowing the gap somewhat.

with the beach minutes away and virtually no media bothering you

I totally get that Tampa is a much more beautiful place than Edmonton, the facts above notwithstanding. But it's interesting that you didn't mention that Tampa's murder rate, although down over 30% in 2018, was still roughly TWICE the murder rate in Edmonton, 'cause I'm sure that sort of thing never factors into where you want to settle your family.

In any case, I don't think Edmonton would go for this unless Tampa was willing to retain a lot more than $1M or take back a contract like Neal's which is similar money for shorter term.

I was about to like your comment, but that last sentence ruinded it for me

Yeah yeah yeah I know but the thing is not all players work out regardless of what rank they are.

You lost me when you said you were gonna list cities off. Nerd.

I don't understand how Gourde goes from a good enough player to be played with top talent to a player that lacks basic hockey skills in the span of 1.5 seasons. I think recency bias may be a little over the top here. Most likely scenario, he signed that big fat contract that will be his last one and enjoying the millionaire life a little too much, forgetting that he still needs to be as hungry for success as he was when he first got called up in TB.

I mean its not like he's just fooled us fans. Yzerman, Brisebois, Cooper, the AHL coaches, his teammates etc etc all believed in him. Eventually you have to say did he fool everyone like a magician or is he just playing badly now. I think the latter is more realistic.

Now, I'm not saying he's a 60+ point plus guy every year and future all star. He definitely had help getting to his achievements and earned a huge contract as a result but he isn't as bad as some make him out to be. (As a player I mean, this year is definitely a tough one for him though)