When Boston Bruins legend Patrice Bergeron announced his retirement last week, it was a day that Bruins fans knew was coming but had long feared. Their team would have to find a way to win without their franchise talisman and one of the greatest defensive forwards of all time. And they would need a successor to fill that void.
Fellow colleague Fluto Shinzawa detailed how the Bruins failed to develop their own replacement for Bergeron, which means they may have to go outside of the organization for help. But unless they are able to get creative with their cap space (CapFriendly reports they have a little over $3 million in available cap space, while also remembering teams can go up to 10 percent above the cap in the offseason), they may be forced to start players like Pavel Zacha or Charlie Coyle in the top centre role.
These are the circumstances that make a potential trade for Calgary Flames centre Elias Lindholm all the more difficult.
It’s natural that some wondered if Lindholm would make sense as a replacement, even if it remains unclear whether Lindholm wants to leave the Flames. The 28-year-old is entering the final year of his six-year contract with an affordable $4.85 million AAV. Evolving-Hockey projects his next deal to have an AAV just above $8.7 million. Flames GM Craig Conroy has already said that Lindholm is a “priority,” and has no problem patiently waiting on the Swedish centre to make a decision and to not rush into a bad trade. But if he’s left with no choice, seeking a trade with the Bruins who need a Bergeron replacement makes sense on the surface. Lindholm would undoubtedly start as Boston’s No. 1 centre while being used as a primary penalty killer and defensive centre.
But does Boston have enticing enough assets to make a trade work? It may depend on whether or not Lindholm would commit to an extension with a new team. If so, then the Flames have every right to ask for a return that involves a first-round pick, a prospect and a roster player. But it’s fair to question if the Bruins have enough assets to put together a competitive offer. The Athletic ranked the Bruins with the 30th-best prospect pool among 32 teams earlier this year. They added five more prospects at last month’s draft, but the highest was a third-rounder in centre Christopher Pelosi. The Bruins also don’t have their first three picks from the 2024 NHL Draft after they went all in during the 2022-23 season. Even if the Bruins could throw in a roster player, how competitive could their trade package stand against other teams?
If the Flames are forced to move on from Lindholm, it would be quite surprising to see the Bruins as a serious suitor for his services. But stranger things have happened.
Since we completed an exercise on what Lindholm’s next contract would look like, it’s only fair that we give Lindholm the “trade destinations” treatment as we did with Noah Hanifin, Tyler Toffoli and Mikael Backlund. In addition to the Bruins, we’ve examined five other teams who could be linked to the Swede if the Flames move on from him.
According to The Athletic’s Michael Russo in March, the Hurricanes mulled the possibility of reacquiring the centre ahead of the trade deadline. Considering the Canes’ defensive-minded approach, Lindholm would make sense as an ideal replacement for their second centre position. With respect to Jesperi Kotkaniemi, the Canes would look much more menacing with a 1-2 punch of Sebastian Aho and Lindholm, meaning you could bump down Kotkaniemi and have the young Finn and Jordan Staal as bottom-six centres. The Hurricanes were already a Cup-contending team with their current roster and their status shouldn’t be affected if they were to complete a trade.
If you’re the Flames, there is no excuse to not come away with some kind of enticing talent in a Lindholm trade with Carolina. The Canes’ best centre prospect is Jack Drury, a 23-year-old who plays like a 200-foot centre and, according to our draft expert Scott Wheeler, looks like an everyday NHLer. Seth Jarvis is a 21-year-old pending restricted free agent who has shown promise at the NHL level already. Martin Necas had his best season last year with a 28-goal, 71-point campaign. He’d fit what the Flames need in terms of right-handed shots while making their core younger and keeping them competitive.
The biggest thing that might hold up a trade with Carolina is salary. They’ve got under $1 million in cap space. But the Canes at least have other pieces that should intrigue the Flames in a trade, and could move a defenseman before the season starts.
You may remember the infamous mailbag column that caught fire after Blue Jackets colleague Aaron Portzline mentioned that Columbus might be into acquiring Lindholm in exchange for the No. 3 pick in this summer’s draft. During one of our many mock drafts, we toyed with a deal for the Blue Jackets and Flames that involved one of the Blue Jackets’ first-rounders, Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Kent Johnson and Jack Roslovic, among other pieces. The trade never came to fruition in our fantasy land because the Blue Jackets were waiting to see if a player they liked was still available. When the player was still available, they took him.
Oh, and the Blue Jackets (in reality) traded the second of the two first-rounders to Philadelphia, so it ruined whatever fantasy situation we could come up with. It was fun, though.
As we remain in the real world, Columbus suddenly fancies itself as an aspiring playoff team. They’re hoping that the injury bug that bit them hard last season won’t strike again. Mike Babcock is the new head coach. The Blue Jackets added Ivan Provorov to their blue line. They’d probably appreciate some kind of offensive help that can alleviate some pressure off Johnny Gaudreau. Who better to do that than Lindholm, who reached the 40-goal plateau with Gaudreau on his wing? If the Jackets are seemingly that desperate to make the playoffs, they might be a worthwhile team to explore a trade with. Especially if the Jackets are willing to part with pieces.
With goalie Filip Gustavsson extended, the Wild have crossed off most of their offseason checklist and now have a better idea of their cap picture. While the money is tight, this team still could use a high-end center to round out its top six. So the Wild absolutely should be inquiring about Lindholm to help contend during Kirill Kaprizov’s best years.
As reasonable as Lindholm’s cap hit is, the Wild would need to get creative to make this work — probably with some salary retention plus moving cap out. Alex Goligoski’s no-movement clause may take him out of the running as a cap casualty, but Marcus Foligno is another option whether it’s in this deal directly or another trade ahead of opening day. After this year, there is the option to extend him with a handful of contracts, including both Goligoski and Foligno, Marc-Andre Fleury and Mats Zuccarello, among others, coming off the books.
Even if Minnesota finds a way to make this all work financially, including additional costs to shed salary, then comes the challenge of a return. The Wild do have all of their firsts and seconds in the drafts ahead. But it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Flames push for a center to develop themselves, like Marco Rossi.
The Maple Leafs went into the offseason with questions down the middle, specifically with John Tavares. Is the veteran best at center or shifting to wing? If the answer is the former, it would require some sort of move to bring back a high-calibre 2C to slot there. While management did sign Max Domi this summer, he’s a player who’s probably better suited for the 3C role or on the wing anyway. So it’s possible that the team could still be on the market for someone like Lindholm.
It wouldn’t be the first time general manager Brad Treliving acquired Lindholm; he did back in 2018 from the Hurricanes in the same trade that brought Noah Hanifin to Calgary.
Say Toronto figures out a return — one that doesn’t include William Nylander. There’s then cap gymnastics to figure out for this season, and even more so ahead of the 2024 offseason. Maybe Toronto’s willing to roll the dice on Lindholm and his expiring contract because there’s so much emphasis on maximizing this upcoming season. But it doesn’t seem possible to even think about his next deal until Auston Matthews is signed, and there’s a plan for other key pending UFAs.
Yes, the Flames and Canucks have a history between their players. A trade involving the Canucks and Lindholm would be headline news, to say the least. But for the purpose of this exercise, we’ve added them in because — similar to Columbus — they fancy themselves as a potential playoff team and could use pieces to get them there.
Vancouver’s had a pretty solid offseason, with low-risk moves to add some defensive stability. But the Canucks still find themselves with a surplus of wingers and few high-end centers behind Elias Pettersson. The Bo Horvat trade hurt this team’s top-six center depth, and J.T. Miller isn’t as strong down the middle. So if someone like Lindholm becomes available, the Canucks should be inquiring.
Management would have to move out some salary this year to fit Lindholm’s cap, and that could come from moving a winger out. Even with Pettersson’s next contract looming, there may be room to extend the Flames’ 1C thanks to expiring contracts and a boost in the cap ceiling.
But do the Canucks have what it will likely cost to acquire Lindholm, and should this team be taking such a big bet on a “right now” player? If the Flames are willing to trade him within the division, Vancouver would have to have far-and-away the best offer on the table, and maybe then some as a sort of in-division tax.
(Top photo of Linus Ullmark and Elias Lindholm: Gerry Thomas / NHLI via Getty Images)
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