As a pending unrestricted free-agent on a Flames squad with flickering playoff hopes, Lindholm's value on the market does increase with an offensive jolt
By Elias Lindholm’s standards, a single emphatic arm pump is an intense celebration.
It is exactly what we saw after the Calgary Flames centre scored the lone goal in Saturday’s 1-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Lindholm’s goal snapped his team’s four-game losing streak to keep the flickering playoff hopes alive, and scissored his 15-game goal-scoring drought.
It’s easy to see why Lindholm was pumped … again, by his usually low-key standards.
“It’s been a while,” Lindholm, who loathes talking about himself to the media, said. “I had a lot of chances, just haven’t been able to put them in. It’s nice to score again.”
You bet his teammates noticed.
“It’s nice for Lindy to see that one go in,” said defenceman Rasmus Andersson. “I didn’t know it was 15 games, but you can kinda sense the relief in his celebration. Usually he doesn’t celebrate too hard when he scores ... it was nice for him to see that one go in. He can feel good about himself going into the all-star game.”
While his teammates are relaxing for the next while, Lindholm will be off to Toronto as Calgary’s representative at the all-star festivities.
It’s most likely Lindholm will be donning the Flaming C during the event, only a trade in the next few days would change that, but the question remains how much longer he will carry Flames colours.
The pending unrestricted free-agent is essentially atop all of the insiders’ trade boards — with defencemen Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin also easy to spot — and the odds of Lindholm skating for the Flames beyond the March 8 trade deadline appear slim, at best.
The offensive numbers have not come this season for Lindholm — nine goals and 32 points in 49 games, well back of the 42-goal, 82-point 2021-22 campaign — but Lindholm’s value must be seen beyond that data.
He’s a leader among forwards in ice time in all three situations, atop the ladder in short-handed and even-strength and by average only one second behind Nazem Kadri in power-play time.
He leads by far in face-offs taken and has won 55.5% of his draws.
However, goals and points are important, and as he looks for a new contract — demands that likely will price him out of Calgary’s plans — the reaction to his goal was understandable.
“He’s gone a while without scoring and that’s not normal for Elias,” coach Ryan Huska said. “When you think of Elias, he’s got the wrist shot where the puck is on and off his stick, and it’s heavy and hard. He hasn’t gotten that away over the last little while. When you look at the last little bit, he’s had chances but the finish sometimes has not been there the way he’s used to having it go in for him.
It weighs on a player when you’re expected to score and expected to contribute, and it’s probably a little bit of relief for him. Now he can go on this break, he can feel a little bit better about putting one in the back of the net.”
Amidst the myriad story lines as the season progresses, what sweater Lindholm is wearing beyond March 8 will be one of the biggest.