Tocchet, Canucks excited to add Lindholm after trade with Flames

TORONTO -- Rick Tocchet considers himself a puzzle guy, and the Vancouver Canucks coach is thrilled about having another piece to fit in following the trade to acquire forward Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames on Wednesday.

“He’s a big piece,” Tocchet said during the 2024 NHL All-Star Game Media Day at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday. “He fits a puzzle for us. To win, you have to have those guys that can play 200 feet, that also can score but also play defense. And that’s kind of the identity we try to play this year.”

That’s been the winning formula this season for the Canucks (33-11-5), who are tied with the Boston Bruins for the NHL lead with 71 points. Vancouver was already going to be the most represented team at the 2024 Honda (U.S.)/Rogers (Canada) NHL All-Star Game on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, CBC, TVAS), led by forwards Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson, defenseman Quinn Hughes and goalie Thatcher Demko, with Tocchet selected as one of four coaches.

Lindholm, who was slated to represent the Flames in Toronto, became the Canucks’ sixth player in the All-Star Game after the trade that sent forward Andrei Kuzmenko to Calgary, along with Vancouver’s first-round pick and a conditional fourth-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, and defenseman prospects Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo.

“It’s exciting,” Lindholm said. “Whoever I’m playing with, I’m just going to try to do my thing. Bring the same things every night, work hard and help this team. Try to enjoy this weekend, and then we’ll see.”

The Canucks are being careful not to look too far ahead, but they know the expectations have been raised after adding Lindholm, who had 32 points (nine goals, 23 assists) in 49 games for the Flames this season. The 29-year-old has had at least 50 points in four of his 10 NHL seasons, including an NHL career-high 82 in 2021-22.

“I don’t think we are certainly worried about outsiders’ expectations,” Miller said. “We really don’t talk about them ourselves and we really have gone by the mantra of day-by-day since training camp, and it’s been a really humbling way for our team to achieve success. Obviously, there’s been some individuals head to toe that have had really good seasons, and I think that’s why we’re where we are in the standings.

“But we’ve been trying to take that attitude this whole time. So, we’re not worried about even the playoffs, yet. We have a lot to go through as a team yet and it’s only going to get a lot harder, and that’s something we’re trying to embrace moving forward.”

Vancouver has been one of the NHL’s biggest surprises this season, jumping to the top of the League standings after failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs the past three seasons. General manager Patrik Allvin and president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford demonstrated their belief in the group’s potential by jumping ahead of other pursuers to acquire Lindholm more than a month ahead of the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline on March 8.

“Obviously, every team wants to go for it,” Tocchet said. “But when you get a piece like that, it obviously gives you another shot to make a run or whatever you guys want to call it. Jim and Patrik, they’ve been really methodical in who we’ve picked up. I don’t think it’s like we’re pushing all the chips in, but I’m just excited we got this guy.”

Tocchet likes the versatility Lindholm will add to Vancouver’s lineup because he can play all three forward positions and is a right-handed shot who has won 55.5 percent of faceoffs this season. He pondered the possibility of playing Pettersson and Lindholm on the same line, with Pettersson, a left-handed shot, taking the faceoffs on the left side and Lindholm taking the draws on the right.

“It’s also nice when another guy can go down low,” Tocchett said. “When you come back in your own zone, it’s nice to have, whether I play him with Pettersson or not, either one [plays down low defensively]. That’s a luxury for us. They can switch off. … They’re both obviously great defensive centermen.”

After playing against him often in the Pacific Division, the Canucks players know the kind of competitor Lindholm is and believe that will fit well in their locker room.

“He’s just a guy who has always been a really hard player to play against,” Boeser said. “He’s skilled, he can score goals, and he works hard. I think that’s the standard we’ve been trying to create around the Canucks is being a hard team to play against, and I think he fits that mold.”

The Canucks know they have work to do in their final 33 regular-season games to get ready for the playoffs. Acquiring another top forward such as Lindholm should help.

“Obviously, one of if not the best [player available] this year,” Hughes said. “I’m sure there were a lot of teams in on him and for us to be able to do that shows that management thinks we have a really good team and, for us as players, we couldn’t be more excited and ready to have him out there.”