Seravalli: Colorado ‘one of the teams’ that have checked in on Elias Lindholm
By Ryan Pike
7 months agoThe Calgary Flames have three major pending unrestricted free agents on their roster, all of which are likely garnering attention from other National Hockey League clubs. On Monday’s edition of Barn Burner, Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli discussed one potential suitor for pending Flames UFA Elias Lindholm: the Colorado Avalanche.
Here’s Seravalli:
“I know a lot of people… got [excited] over the weekend when they saw that the Colorado Avalanche had exactly the requisite cap space to land someone like Elias Lindholm. I do think the Avs were one of the teams that have checked in on Lindholm as the year has gone on. I don’t think the Avs have presented themselves to this point as more serious as anyone else but, nonetheless, a situation to watch.”
Per our pals at Cap Friendly, the Avalanche are presently operating in long-term injury reserve, and have $4.825 million in cap space below their LTIR spending ceiling. Lindholm currently has a $4.85 million cap hit, so the Flames wouldn’t need to retain very much salary or take back much in the way of an existing Colorado roster player to make the cap math work.
The obvious X-factor would be Colorado’s injury and LTIR situation. Right now, they have Gabriel Landeskog, Pavel Francouz and Artturi Lehkonen on LTIR. Landeskog and Francouz are expected to miss the entire 2023-24 season, but Lehkonen will be back at some point, which will eat into the LTIR wiggle room the Avalanche currently have.
But still: on paper, the fit for Lindholm in the Avalanche lineup makes a ton of sense. We’ll see if Colorado and Calgary can hash out a trade between now and the March 8, 2024 trade deadline.
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