The Vancouver Canucks made their big move on Wednesday, as they sent a large package of youth and draft picks to acquire center Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames.
Lindholm, one of the most sought-after rentals available this deadline season, is staying in Western Canada in a trade that sheds light on Vancouver's aggressive mindset and Calgary's white flag on this iteration of its core.
The Canucks sent winger Andrei Kuzmenko back to Calgary along with a 2024 1st round pick, a conditional 4th round pick, and prospects Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo.
What It Means for the Canucks
This is the Canucks going all in on a team that has been a big surprise to start this season. Vancouver's offensive success has been driven in large part by the dominance of center Elias Petterson, who has centered the league's most lethal line when paired with wingers Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller.
The Canucks have split up that line at times this season, and they have found ways to win games with them together and apart.
The acquisition of Lindholm makes both versions of the Canucks better, as the Swede can anchor the second line behind Petterson whether he has either Boeser or Miller with him or not.
The 2013 fifth overall pick has struggled as a goal-scorer this season with just 9 tallies in 49 games, but his 23 assists have kept his offensive production afloat.
Lindholm's past is suggestive that he could turn things around in the goalscoring department, as he scored 22 or more in four of his five full seasons with the Flames, including a career high of 42 in 2021-2022.
The Canucks are now much deeper down the middle, with a player with dominant potential to put behind their top line. If Lindholm turns things around in Vancouver, this will pay off huge come the postseason.
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What It Means for the Flames
Lindholm's departure is likely the second to last left of the Flames former core pieces, a group that disintegrated quickly and without a truly deep playoff run.
Johnny Gaudreau left in free agency, and the Matthew Tkachuk trade to Florida has been a flop given the performance of Jonathan Huberdeau in Calgary since the deal.
Of the group that guided Calgary's success from roughly 2018 to last season, only defenseman Noah Hanifin remains. The Flames have flirted with the idea of extending him, but his return could get too attractive as teams get more desperate as the deadline approaches.
The Flames are now in a weird limbo, where they still have great veteran players like Nazem Kadri and Mackenzie Weegar locked up for the long haul, but the ultimate amount of top-end talent on the roster will not be enough to expect to contend anytime soon.
Some expensive contracts make a full-scale teardown unlikely, and while they now have some excess draft capital, it really isn't all that much of an excess.
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