As a youth, Gourde played in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from South Shore, Montreal. Undrafted, Gourde played major junior in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Victoriaville Tigres. He won the QMJHL's top scoring award as well as the league MVP in 2011–12 after compiling an impressive 87 assists and 124 points in 68 games. On March 10, 2014, Gourde agreed to a one-year American Hockey League contract with the Syracuse Crunch and a two-year entry level contract with their NHL affiliate, the Tampa Bay Lightning, to begin in the 2014–15 season. He responded to surprisingly lead the Crunch in goals scored with 29, including a team-leading eight on the powerplay. He completed his break-out season with 57 points in 76 games. Gourde was returned to the Crunch after competing in the Lightning's training camp to begin the 2015–16 season. He continued his scoring pace from the previous season and was placed third amongst the team points when he received his first NHL recall to the Lightning on December 14, 2015. On December 14, 2015, the Lightning recalled Gourde along with teammate Joël Vermin. On December 15, 2015, Gourde made his NHL debut in a 5–4 overtime Lightning win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Gourde also registered his first career NHL assist and point on a Mike Blunden goal. On July 25, 2016, the Lightning announced the re-signing of Gourde to a one-year, two-way contract. Gourde appeared in two games the previous season, recording an assist and two penalty minutes. He also played in 65 games with the Crunch, recording 14 goals and 44 points. On March 11, 2017, Gourde scored his first NHL goal, against the Florida Panthers, shorthanded on the penalty kill. In so doing, Gourde became the fourth Lightning player to score their first career goal shorthanded. On June 26, 2017, the Lightning announced it had re-signed Gourde to a two-year, $2 million contract extension. During the 2017–18 season Gourde was name the NHL Rookie of the Month for February. On March 6, 2018, Gourde recorded two goals in a 5-4 overtime Lightning victory over the visiting Florida Panthers. His two goal effort tied him with Tyler Johnson for the most goals during a rookie season by a Lightning player. On March 30, 2018, Gourde moved past Ondřej Palát for second most points in a season by a Lightning rookie. On April 6, Gourde recorded one goal and two assists in a 7–5 Lightning victory over the visiting Buffalo Sabres. The goal moved Gourde past Tyler Johnson for most goals by a Lightning rookie, with 25. Gourde also passed Brad Richards for the most points in a season by a Lightning rookie, with 64. On April 12, Gourde made his Stanley Cup playoff debut in a 5–2 Lightning home win against the New Jersey Devils. He recorded his first career playoff goal, assist and point in the Lightning victory, becoming only the second player in Lightning history to have a multi-point game in their playoff debut. On November 2, 2018, the Lightning signed Gourde to a six-year, $31 million contract extension. On March 22, 2019, Gourde was suspended for two games for an illegal check to the head of Carolina Hurricanes' forward Jordan Staal at PNC Arena the previous night.
Personal life
Gourde was named after the Greek singer Yanni. His parents saw the singer's name in the credits of a movie they had watched while his mother was pregnant with him, which resulted in them deciding to give him the first name Yanni. Gourde and his wife Marie-Andree had their first child on May 1, 2018.
