This is very unusual to see these teams trade. The Vancouver Canucks and the Calgary Flames are putting their burning rivalry aside for a moment as they have just made a HUGE MOVE to make Elias Lindholm a Canuck.
The old rivals are putting rivalry aside…because the trade compensation was just too good.
Despite having one of the more fearsome rivalries in the NHL and Western Canada, the Vancouver Canucks and the Calgary Flames have pulled off a massive move that has seen all-star center Elias Lindholm traded to the Canucks. And, to be honest, I think this is a really great move for Vancouver…and not so much so for Calgary.
Yeah, this is definitely unexpected.
As I just mentioned, the Calgary Flames and the Vancouver Canucks have one of the more active and fierier rivalries in the NHL as they both are seeking to reign supreme as the best team in Western Canada (which has them also pitted off against the Edmonton Oilers too, but they’re not relevant for this video). Nevertheless, these two sides have clearly seen that being rivals must come second when a massive, eye-watering, and irresistible trade offer has been put on the table.
And, yes, that is the trade that just happened between these two teams with the Flames trading away their all-star (and probably best forward) Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, the Canucks 2024 1st round pick, and a conditional 2024 4th round pick from Vancouver as well.
Now, to start off with the obvious centerpiece of this deal, I think acquiring Elias Lindholm is a brilliant move by Vancouver. Not only has Lindholm had a great personal season (the Flames are a dumpster fire as always) this year with Calgary thus far with his 9 goals, 23 assists for 32 points, and his all-star nomination, but he can easily slide in as the team’s 2nd line center and provide instant offense.
I mean, Lindholm now potentially has linemates in Elias Petterson (one of the leading Hart Trophy candidates), Ilya Mikheyev (who is on pace for a 42-point season), Brock Besser (an all-star this season as well), or Pius Sutter (a very good defensive, penalty-killing winger).
If Lindholm was able to score 0.65 points/GM (or a little better than a point every other game) in Calgary with one of the worst rosters in the NHL, how do you think he’s going to do with all-star and Hart-candidate linemates on the joint-best roster in hockey (Canucks are currently 1st in the West and tied with the Bruins for being 1st in the NHL on 71 points)? This is just a great move that will benefit the Canucks for their inevitable Stanley Cup run…and it gets even better when you see how little they actually had to give up for Lindholm.
Now, not to take away from the other parts in this deal, but the only REAL valuable piece in this deal is that 2024 1st round pick. And if the Canucks go on a deep playoff run as the organization is surely hoping with this move, then that pick is going to be a late 1st rounder anyways.
So, did the Canucks really give up all that much to begin with for an all-star center?
Sure, we can’t judge the career trajectories of Jurmo and Brzustewicz just yet; but seeing as how they are AT LEAST another two or three years away from POTENTIALLY being NHL-caliber player, any deep playoff run and personal contribution by Lindholm more than makes up for their departure. And a conditional 4th round pick in the draft is about as valuable to the Canucks right now as a flat tire.
Thus, that leaves us with Andrei Kuzmenko being shipped out to Calgary as the last part of this deal. And, even though Kuzmenko had a brilliant season last year in his first season in the NHL with his 39 goals and 74 points, he’s been nowhere near as good this year. On a Canucks roster with all-stars, Hart candidates, and the joint-best group of players by the team’s overall standing, Kuzmenko has had a MASSIVE drop-off as he’s only scored 8 goals and 21 points in 43 games.
At his current scoring rate, he would have to play in 150 games this season to just EQUAL his totals from last season for points and 210 games for goals. Just a reminder, THERE’S ONLY 33 GAMES LEFT for the Canucks this season. So, even though I’m not technically saying Kuzmenko is a one-season wonder, it sure as shit looks like he is going to be that unless he dramatically turns his game around next season.
And that’s pretty much why I think the Canucks have absolutely NAILED this trade!
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