No one is taking on Gourde’s contract, unless you make it really worth their while. And even then, they would need to be in a really, really good cap situation, which the Canadiens are not in.

It's basically Ottawa, New Jersey, LA, and I doubt Ottawa or LA want to commit that kind of term to a guy like that, with all of the young forwards they have coming through the pipe.

Tampa would never add a 1st to him, so it's a moot point. He will play at least one more year in Tampa unless they choose to buy him out as a last resort(Tampa easily eats the sub 2 million cap hit for most of the 10 years if it means the difference between keeping Serg and Cirelli long term or potentially losing one). The far more likely scenario is that Johnson works with the team for a trade given his position, and Gourde, who has far more value than what some ppl on this site think, once again becomes the ~50 point player he usually is with correct usage. Then after next off season, when he will be in a similar position as Johnson is in now(1 year left until a heavily modified ntc kicks in), Tampa may look to move him via trade if he waives or, provided they don't protect him, work with Seattle to have him be selected in the ED. In any case, this trade involving Gourde is about as unlikely as they come for Tampa this off season.