The Calgary Flames are not having the best season. They already started their sell-off during the off-season and now it is going to continue ahead of the trade deadline.
Through 49 games played, they are 22-22-5 which is good for 49 standings points. It is also five points out of a wild-card spot in the Western Conference. To get in, they'd have to jump five teams.
Calgary confirmed their selling intentions on Wednesday night with a big trade that they made with one of their division rivals.
The Vancouver Canucks are bolstering their roster in an attempt to win the Stanley Cup right now. It is no shock to see them make a big splash considering their record of 33-11-5. Those 71 points they have currently lead the Pacific Division, the Western Conference, and the NHL.
The Vancouver Canucks made a big-time trade with the Calgary Flames
They have acquired Flames All-Star Elias Lindholm in exchange for Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, a 2024 first-round pick, and a conditional 2024 fourth-round pick.
Calgary is serious about rebuilding their organization and they did a great job with this trade. They are getting back some talented players in addition to a couple of draft picks that could help them in the future.
The Flames might look like the winners in this deal but the Canucks are trying to win right now. They have some salary cap issues coming up and they don't know how long they are going to be as good as they are right now even next year.
With Lindholm joining a core of Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, Thatcher Demko, and Brock Boeser amongst others, they are very good. Giving up all of those assets for one player is risky but it could pay off for them in the long run.
At 29 years old, Elias Lindholm is set to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Vancouver is likely going to try and re-sign him after giving up that type of haul but anything can happen. No matter what, this is a "win in 2024" type of trade.
Expect there to be a lot of big trades in the next few weeks leading up to the deadline. It will be interesting to see if either of these two teams will be involved. The probability is high.