Flames swing blockbuster trade with Carolina

Under general manager Brad Treliving, the Calgary Flames always save their big trades for NHL Draft weekend. Well, they’ve done it again.

The Flames have reportedly acquired forward Elias Lindholm and defenseman Noah Hanifin from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defenseman Dougie Hamilton, forward Micheal Ferland and college prospect Adam Fox.

Lindholm, 23, is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights. He’s a right shot forward, which the Flames need to complement Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. He’s reportedly reached a stalemate with Hurricanes management in negotiations for a new contract – reports are he’s looking for around $5 million – and a trade suggests the ‘Canes weren’t willing to give him that. He’s a solid bet for 40 to 45 points per season and is primarily a distributor. He was the fifth overall pick in 2013.

Hanifin, 21, is also a pending restricted free agent. He’s a left shot defender who’s a good bet for 30 points. He’s a two-way defender who’s not overly flashy, but is consistently effective. He was the fifth overall pick in 2015.

Hamilton, 25, has three years remaining on a deal that pays him $5.75 million annually. He’s been a top pairing fixture with the Flames over the past two seasons and he led the NHL in goals by a defenseman in 2017-18. The big knocks on his game are a lack of intensity and some variable commitment in the defensive zone, but his offensive contributions arguably more than made up for that. He was the ninth overall pick in 2011 by Boston, and was traded to the Flames at the 2015 NHL Draft.

Ferland, 26, had one year left on a deal that pays him $1.75 million annually. He’s moved up and down the lineup during his tenure with the Flames – he was on the top line and scored a ton, but failed to spark other lines when he was moved around. Ferland was a tremendous finesse player, but he arguably had the best shot on the team when he had the time and space to get it off. He was a fifth round pick in 2010.

Fox, 20, is heading into his junior year with Harvard. He’s one of the top offensive defensemen in all of American college hockey. He was a third round pick in 2016.

On its face, it appears that the Flames are betting big on Bill Peters to (a) get the most out of the remaining Flames roster and (b) make Lindholm and Hanifin the answer to last year’s problems. We’ll have more on this transaction as details become available.

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