The NHL trade deadline is still more than a month away, but the Canucks are striking while the iron is hot.
After suffering just one regulation loss in the entire month of January, Vancouver finished the month by agreeing to a deal to acquire Elias Lindholm from the Flames and bolster an offense that has ranked near the top of the league this season.
Lindholm has struggled to replicate the 42-goal season he posted with the Flames two years ago, sitting on just nine goals through 49 games this season, but a move to a high-flying Canucks offense with Stanley Cup contention in mind figures to be beneficial to the former Hurricanes draft pick.
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Here are the details of the Canucks’ trade for Lindholm, including the Flames’ return.
Elias Lindholm trade details
The Flames and Canucks announced the trade Wednesday night, with three players and two draft picks headed to Calgary.
Canucks receive
- C Elias Lindholm
Flames receive
- LW Andrei Kuzmenko
- D Hunter Brzustewicz
- D Joni Jurmo
- 2024 first-round pick
- 2024 fourth-round pick
Kuzmenko, who waived a no-trade clause to facilitate the deal, impressed with 74 points on 39 goals and 35 assists in his first NHL season last year. He’s cooled off considerably this season, with only 21 points through 43 games in what’s been a breakthrough year for the Canucks. Kuzmenko is under contract through next season at $5.5 million annually, so the Flames will have more than a year to see if he can fit with their offense.
Brzustewicz was a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and currently plays for the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. Jurmo, also a defenseman, was a 2020 third-round pick of the Canucks.
Calgary additionally received two draft picks in the deal, with a 2024 first-rounder being the prize even if the pick winds up near the end of the round.
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Elias Lindholm contract
Lindholm is in the final year of a six-year, $29.1 million contract signed after he was traded to the Flames in 2018. He will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
The combination of Lindholm’s expiring contract and the Flames’ struggles made the 29-year-old a likely trade candidate ahead of the March deadline. The Flames sit sixth in the Pacific Division as of Wednesday night, five points out of a playoff spot and 22 points behind the first-place Canucks.
Vancouver will have to decide whether to pursue a long-term deal with Lindholm before he hits free agency in July, but for now the center will be part of what the Canucks hope will be a deep playoff run.