After months of speculation that he would likely be traded, it appears that the Calgary Flames and Elias Lindholm are inching toward a contract extension. The 28-year-old, who expressed hesitancy about signing an extension when the 2022-23 season had concluded, appears to have had a change of heart when it comes to remaining in Calgary long-term.
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Lindholm, who is coming off a season in which he scored 22 goals and 64 points, is entering the final year of a contract that pays him $4.85 million annually. That contract has been considered a steal for several seasons, and won’t be even close to any new deal he does ink. Based on several reports, it is expected that he will sign a maximum eight-year deal, with the average annual value (AAV) coming in at roughly $9 million. While it won’t be cheap, it is more than worth it for the Flames to agree upon.
Flames Are in No Position to Rebuild
Shortly after the 2022-23 season had ended, Flames fans were calling for a rebuild after several players on the current roster seemed unwilling to sign extensions. While a rebuild may help this franchise turn into a legitimate contender, they are simply in no position to do so at this moment.
Not only does Flames ownership appear to be completely against the idea, but it would be an extremely difficult pill to swallow when considering the fact they recently signed Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau, and MacKenzie Weegar to lucrative, long-term contracts. While Weegar could likely be moved, both Huberdeau and Kadri’s contracts would be extremely difficult to find suitors for, and would likely require the Flames to retain significant portions.
Keeping Lindholm would instead help ensure that the Flames are a playoff calibre team. Some will argue that isn’t the case given that they missed the dance this past season, though having a new head coach behind the bench in 2023-24 should help this group turn things around.
With Lindholm, the Flames have a player who would be the number one centerman on a good chunk of teams throughout the league. Though his offensive totals dipped this past season, he remained elite in his own end of the ice, and is undoubtedly one of the best two-way centers in the game today. While an eight-year extension could turn ugly in the final few years, his game isn’t likely to drop off any time soon.
Retaining Lindholm Sends Positive Message Around League
When it was reported earlier this summer that several of the Flames players entering the final year of their contracts weren’t keen on extensions, many began to question what exactly was wrong with the organization. Not helping the fact was that both Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk chose to depart after the 2021-22 campaign.
Keeping Lindholm would go a long way in showing not just fans, but players throughout the league that things aren’t nearly as bad in the organization as some have suggested. It could also go a long way in helping attract other free agents in future years, which would also allow them to continue to be competitive for years to come.
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What keeping Lindholm could also do is prove to some other players entering the final year of their contracts that this new management group and coaching staff are very serious about winning. Perhaps with Lindholm signing the extension, along with the less tense environment with a new coaching staff in place, at least one or two other players that are currently in Lindholm’s position would change their minds.
While an extension has yet to be agreed upon, it seems that talks are much more positive between Lindholm’s camp and the Flames than they were just a few short months ago. Though some remain hesitant about it, the good seems to outweigh the bad given the state of the organization at this time.
