Newest Vancouver Canuck Elias Lindholm brings their All-Star Game contingent up to six players and a coach. He’s an expensive addition, especially given his unrestricted free-agent status in July. Now they hope this trade will pay off.
Elias Lindholm Top Trade Target
Canucks President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford is notorious for moving early and often on trades. That tendency has been inherited by Canucks General Manager Patrik Allvin, making his move over a month before the NHL trade deadline.
It looks like a relatively weak free-agent class this year, at least for true rentals. Lindholm is often listed as the best of the UFA class. This doesn’t mean he’s a bad acquisition, of course, but it did provide impetus to move quickly.
Vancouver was looking for a versatile forward, ideally a right-handed one who can play centre. A good passer to let the Canucks finishers take advantage would be nice. In a perfect world, the new arrival could kill penalties and maybe play the second unit power play in a pinch.
Well, guess what? EVERY team wants one of those. But Vancouver went and got him.
Perfect Fit, Imperfect Season
Lindholm is an excellent two-way player who works both special teams for the Calgary Flames. He centred one of the most dangerous lines in the NHL two years ago, scoring 42 goals. So why was he expendable?
His scoring has returned to Earth this season with nine goals and 32 points after 49 games. That’s off of even last season’s pace, but not by much. The biggest difference is not having a “true” shooter, with Yegor Sharangovich pressed into the role. Sharangovich has done well there, but he doesn’t normally shoot above 19%.
Lindholm is averaging well over 20 minutes per game, something the Canucks won’t ask of him. His ability isn’t in question, but his upcoming paycheque is. Jim Rutherford gave him his first NHL contract, but he’s unlikely to give the team a nostalgia discount next season.
He’s in the last year of a six-season deal, costing $4.85 million per year. He turned 29 in December, and when the end of the year comes around, Elias Lindholm will be one more contract to negotiate.
Andrei Kuzmenko Experiment Almost Worked
The Vancouver Canucks trading Andrei Kuzmenko in the same year they signed him to an extension is a surprise. One that’s now part of a long, weird list for 2023-24. But it was increasingly necessary since it was clear that coach Rick Tocchet didn’t trust him on the ice.
Getting Andrei Kuzmenko‘s name on a contract was one of this regime’s earliest victories, but times have changed. His first NHL season was an unqualified success, scoring 39 goals and 74 points in 81 games. It took him a bit to get going with just one goal and one assist in his first seven games, but so did the Canucks.
Kuzmenko was not only a success on the ice, but off it as well. And that success story was needed since the team had few enough during the season. While he bloomed under Bruce Boudreau, there was some question whether he’d do as well with Rick Tocchet as coach. Those fears were seemingly allayed with a strong run late, scoring 20 goals and 33 points in 36 games with Tocchet.
That convinced the Canucks to sign him to a two-year extension at $5.5 million per season. He clearly liked where he landed, also getting a 12-team no-trade clause in the deal. What wasn’t taken into account is Tocchet using last season to get a feel for the team before changing their tactics completely.
Before the trade, both Kuzmenko and his agent said they would prefer to work things out in Vancouver. But Allvin decided Kuzmenko was more valuable as a trade chip than a skater. Kuzmenko agreed, waiving his no-trade clause to go to Calgary bringing Elias Lindholm back.
Calgary Gets Some Future and Present
Andrei Kuzmenko is obviously talented, and in the right conditions very productive. The Calgary Flames are getting a slick, sneaky-good front-of-net scorer who is locked in for one more season at a decent cost. There could be an added bonus here, in Kuzmenko being a very good shooter.
He’s leaving Vancouver less because of his willingness to work and more because of the playing style the Canucks now have. A fresh start for Kuzmenko can reward both him and his new team. And if there is one thing Calgary wants more than anything else in the world right now, it’s to get Jonathan Huberdeau rolling again.
Huberdeau has been an unmitigated disaster in Calgary. He signed the contract already prepared for Matthew Tkachuk, and is just in the first year of it. That’s eight years at $10.5 million in cap space. He’s not going to hit 100 points again, but even a point-per-game pace would be welcome now.
If Kuzmenko – as good a finisher as Huberdeau is a passer – lines up on his opposite wing, that might happen. At least for next season, anyway. If this move works well enough that Calgary can push hard for a playoff spot? That’s dividends now and for the future.
They don’t have Elias Lindholm to centre them, granted. But Nazem Kadri‘s most frequent wingers are Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil. We think he might welcome the upgrade.
The Other Details of the Elias Lindholm Trade
Lindholm is not coming cheaply, of course. One aspect of moving early to make a deal is you need to pay what the other team asks. If not completely, then close enough to make them consider it. As a side benefit, the Canucks have another $5.5 million available to them for 2024-25.
Here are the other pieces going Calgary’s way.
First Round Pick in 2024
Where this will land is still a mystery, of course. But if the Canucks can hang on to top spot in the Pacific Division, then it’s 25th overall or lower. In their dreams it will be 32nd overall, but if they flame (*ahem*) out in the first round? Still no higher than 25th.
Conditional Fourth-Round Pick in 2024
The condition is one the Canucks would be absolutely fine with activating. If they reach the Western Conference Final, it becomes a third-round pick. The interesting note here is that this condition means the Canucks can’t trade away that pick.
Hunter Brzustewicz
There is some risk here for Vancouver, and an excuse to hire a diction coach for Calgary.* He is having an excellent season in the OHL with a very good chance at 100 points. Sitting third overall in league scoring after 47 games is not bad at all for a defenceman.
Brzustewicz isn’t reaching the NHL for a few years yet. Calgary has two non-UFA defencemen signed beyond this season. There will probably be room for him by then, and plenty of patience for him.
Joni Jurmo
Jurmo has had an up-and-down course leading to North America, and there’s no guarantee he makes it. A defensive defender, he’s a leader on the teams he’s played for, though never a great scorer. Great size and a very, very good skater, but he is just 21 years old so doesn’t get a lot of ice time yet.
If Calgary wants to keep him in their system they’ll need to sign him by July 1st. The 6’4″ left-side defender could certainly be worth a closer look in North America.
Conclusion
This is a win-now vs. win-later trade. But Calgary is in the odd position of also having a lot of older players under contract. So while the Canucks are looking to make an impact in the playoffs this year, the Flames are hoping to make a return… soon?
Kuzmenko could very well round into form with his new team. Realistically, he’s not likely a 39-goal scorer, but 30 is certainly within reach. Calgary now has two first-round picks for this draft they can use. It’s getting weird on their defence, but the forwards are set.
The Canucks, meanwhile, are looking to make themselves even more dangerous. Elias Lindholm is not just a depth add, but a player who can step onto the top line. Or on a Do Anything second line behind Elias Pettersson. And it improves their mid-ranked penalty kill dramatically.
The Canucks will want to re-sign Lindholm after this season, though perhaps not for too long. But even if he decides to chase his fortune elsewhere, the price wasn’t crippling. Vancouver’s most important pieces remain in place.
This could be, surprise of surprises, a trade that works out for both teams.
*Brew-STEHV-ich, for the record. You’re welcome.
Main Photo Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
