Around the NHL: Elias Lindholm is in trade talks (again), Oilers see Adam Henrique as “a top priority” and more!

1 month ago

The National Hockey League trade deadline is just days away.

With that being said, let’s look at some of the news that popped up on Tuesday, such as a trade, a re-signing, and some rumours!

Elias Lindholm could be flipped by Vancouver Canucks

According to TSN’s Chris Johnston, the Vancouver Canucks are looking to acquire Pittsburgh Penguins winger, Jake Guentzel. To make cap room, they’ve had discussions to flip Elias Lindholm to the Boston Bruins, who desperately need a centre.

On the final day of January, the Calgary Flames traded him to the Canucks for a five-asset trade that included prospects Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, along with a first-round pick in 2024, and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2024. The Flames also acquired Andrei Kuzmenko, who has five goals and six points in 10 games to Lindholm’s four goals and six points in 14 games.

The Canucks are clearly tinkering with their team before the deadline, but giving up that package just to move him to a fellow Stanley Cup contender is an interesting move.

Anthony Mantha traded to Vegas Golden Knights

The trade deadline may be Friday, but that doesn’t mean that moves aren’t made prior to the final day. On Tuesday afternoon, the Vegas Golden Knights acquired the winger (at 50% retention) from the Washington Capitals for a second-round pick and fourth-round pick in 2024, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.

As you may know, the Golden Knights recently put their captain, Mark Stone, on the long-term injured reserve, meaning that they have an additional $9.5 million to play around with. As it stands, the Knights have $4,426,863 in cap space and while they’ve been linked to other wingers, such as Guentzel, they could pivot to a defenceman. Perhaps they’re looking at Noah Hanifin?

Noah Hanifin has a contract extension in place with Tampa Bay Lightning

Speaking of Hanifin, Nick Kypreos reported on Real Kyper & Bourne that Hanifin and the Tampa Bay Lightning have a deal in place for an extension if Hanifin is traded to the Lightning.

The question is, what kind of package could the Lightning send to the Flames to make it worth it, especially with an extension in place? Their top prospect is a left-winger is Isaac Howard, who has eight goals and 31 points in 32 games with Michigan State University. The 19-year-old helped the United States win the gold medal at the 2024 World Juniors.

Of course, the Lightning are without their first-round selections for the next two seasons, and a 2026 first-round pick, regardless of how bad the Lightning may be in two seasons, doesn’t sound all too appealing for a team that wants a re-tool, not a rebuild.

Pittsburgh Penguins looking to trade Jake Guentzel by Wednesday

According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Pittsburgh wishes to trade winger Jake Guentzel by Wednesday evening, and would like a first, young NHL player, and prospects, so basically similar to the Lindholm deal.

This season, the 29-year-old pending unrestricted free agent has 22 goals and 52 points in 50 games, with a career-high 40 goals and 84 points in 76 games in 2021-22. The Omaha, Nebraska native has a cap hit of $6 million and will get a big raise once he hits free agency after the season.

There have been several teams interested in him, such as the Vegas Golden Knights, Vancouver Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, potentially the Detroit Red Wings, and the Edmonton Oilers.

Speaking of the Flames provincial rivals…

The Edmonton Oilers’ priority is to land Adam Henrique

Although the Edmonton Oilers may be interested in Jake Guentzel, it seems that their priority is Anaheim Ducks’ centre Adam Henrique, according to both Chris Johnston and Pierre LeBrun on Insider Trading.

There’s two ways of looking at this. The glass half full aspect is that the 34-year-old has 18 goals and 42 points in 60 games and is on pace to have a career-high season in the latter category. The glass half empty aspect for Oiler fans is that it’s year nine of Connor McDavid, and your top priority is a third-line centre who hasn’t scored a playoff goal since Barack Obama’s first term as the President of the United States.

Either way, it’s good entertainment for Flames fans.

Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Twitter @Brennan_L_D.

Get ready for the Daily Faceoff Live Trade Deadline Show, coming to you on March 8th LIVE from 11 AM to 3 PM EST!! Join Tyler Yaremchuk, Frank Seravalli and friends for 4 hours of non-stop action as they dive deep into the heart of the trade deadline. They will be breaking down every trade, discussing the impact on teams, predicting the playoff picture, and giving you the inside scoop on all the wheeling and dealing happening around the league. Tune in live on March 8th from 11 AM to 3 PM EST for the The Daily Faceoff Live Trade Deadline special you won’t want to miss!

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