NHL.com has the fantasy hockey spin on forward Elias Lindholm being traded to the Vancouver Canucks from the Calgary Flames. For more fantasy coverage, visit NHL.com/Fantasy.
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The Vancouver Canucks acquired center Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames, boosting his fantasy stock for the rest of the season and also their Stanley Cup chances.
Lindholm should be considered a fringe top 100 fantasy option for the rest of the season and could now have an elite linemate either on the top unit with Elias Pettersson or second with J.T. Miller, each of whom has played wing in the past. Vancouver also has the option to roll three strong centers during the postseason.
The Canucks, who are tied with the Boston Bruins for the NHL lead in points (71; 33-11-5) under coach Rick Tocchet, now have seven players around the top 100 overall in NHL.com's fantasy rankings, with Lindholm joining forwards Pettersson, Miller, Brock Boeser, defensemen Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek and goalie Thatcher Demko.
Lindholm, who can become an unrestricted free agent after this season, has bounce-back appeal considering he has the second-lowest shooting percentage among NHL forwards (6.9; minimum 110 shots on goal) behind Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals (6.0).
The 29-year-old Lindholm, who was named a 2024 NHL All-Star this season, has a high fantasy ceiling considering he had a career-high 82 points (42 goals, 40 assists), plus-61 and 235 shots on goal for the Flames in 2021-22, when he had high-scoring linemates Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau. Lindholm was tied with center Nazem Kadri for Calgary's lead in assists (23) this season.
Per NHL EDGE stats, Lindholm ranks in the 93rd percentile in high-danger shots on goal (46) this season and is also among the forward leaders in total skating distance (158.75 miles; 94th percentile) and top shot speed (95.70 mph; 83rd).
The Flames landed wing Andrei Kuzmenko, who could benefit from a change in scenery after being a healthy scratch multiple times in Tocchet's first full season with the Canucks. Kuzmenko scored 39 goals (tied for 20th in NHL) last season but has been held to eight in 43 games this season. Kuzmenko's shooting percentage has regressed drastically from 27.3 last season to 12.7 this season.
Kadri is likely to be elevated to No. 1 center in Calgary, and the Lindholm trade could benefit center Connor Zary, who's quietly tied for third among NHL rookies in points per game (0.59) behind Connor Bedard (0.85) of the Chicago Blackhawks and Leo Carlsson (0.60) of the Anaheim Ducks. Zary could bring more exposure to either wing Yegor Sharangovich or Jonathan Huberdeau after Lindholm's departure.
