Flames opt not to sign Linus Lindstrom

The 3 p.m. MT deadline came and went on Monday afternoon and the Calgary Flames opted not to sign a pair of prospects to entry level deals. We’ve already discussed Milos Roman, but the club also parted ways with 2016 fourth round pick Linus Lindstrom.

The 22-year-old Lindstrom just completed his fourth full season with the Sweden Hockey League’s Skelleftea AIK. He’s been a bottom six fixture basically the entire time, honing his two-way skills. He’s been a reliable checking line body for his club, his his offense has come along quite slowly. Between his playing style and Swedish heritage, Lindstrom was sort of hoped to be another Mikael Backlund – though he hasn’t developed to the degree at this age that Backlund had.

Lindstrom had 20 points in 48 games for Skelleftea this past season, a career high, with much of that output skewed towards the back half of the calendar. Simply put, he didn’t progress quickly enough to stake a claim on a contract with the Flames. He’s under contract in the SHL for this season.

The Flames have oodles of European scouts these days and a big presence in Sweden thanks to Hakan Loob, so Lindstrom may not fall entirely off the club’s radar. But with the number of prospects in Stockton that will need development time in 2020-21, Lindstrom’s contract status and where he’s at in his development, the time was not right now for him to sign an NHL deal.