The start of the 2023-24 NHL season is rapidly approaching with under 20 days until the start of the preseason. For the Calgary Flames, however, there is still much uncertainty. New general manager Craig Conroy made his first splash by trading leading scorer Tyler Toffoli to the New Jersey Devils. Unfortunately, the roster headlines eight pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs) to go along with three restricted free agents in need of contracts at season’s end. In a perfect world, all or most of them would re-sign with the Flames. What complicates things is last offseason’s star acquisitions Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar’s extensions kicking in this season, adding $7.6 million to the books. Currently, the team has negative-$213,000 in available cap space. Therefore, money is tight and it is more likely that not all of these players will be with the Flames after the 2023-24 season.
Among that UFA group is first-line centre Elias Lindholm, who would undoubtedly be the most valuable in any trade scenario should he choose not to re-up with Conroy and company. He finished just behind Toffoli in scoring last season with 22 goals and 64 points and presently commands just a $4.85 million cap hit. He is a premier two-way forward who was a Frank J. Selke Trophy runner-up in 2021-22 to go along with 42 goals and 82 points.
An abundance of rumours of destinations and packages for Lindholm have been floating around and if the Flames don’t get a solid roster player in return and feel that no one within the organization is ready to fill the void of his departure, another trade may be made to do so. Let’s have a look at three potential players the team could acquire to bridge the gap until a prospect or big summer signing fixes the issue.
Ryan Hartman, Minnesota Wild
Of course, the Minnesota Wild feature players such as Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson-Ek, and Jared Spurgeon. These and other prominent players are most definitely off-limits or couldn’t fit into the Flames’ complicated payroll. This is where forward Ryan Hartman comes in. The American was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks at 30th overall back in 2013 and played for them as well as the Nashville Predators and Philadelphia Flyers before signing with the Wild in 2019. He re-signed with the team on a three-year, $5.1 million deal two years later. In 2021-22, he broke out in a huge way with 34 goals and 65 points in 82 games, shattering his previous career-highs of 19 goals and 31 points. This last season he was limited to 59 games due to injuries but still finished with 15 goals and 37 points.
At 28 years of age, Hartman is in the prime of his career. He can play centre or wing very effectively, be slotted up and down the lineup, and contribute on both special teams units. With Minnesota, he has averaged 20 goals, 45 points, 73 hits, 57 blocked shots, and 38 takeaways, and has a career Corsi for percentage of 51.6, which means his team controls puck possession whenever he is on the ice. Playing alongside Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello may have inflated Hartman’s numbers, but the Flames could see similar output from him if he lined up with playmakers such as Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri. He is also immensely helpful financially with just a $1.7 million cap hit and his age and playing style fit with the current core. Unfortunately, like Lindholm, he too is in the final year of his contract and would need to be signed at the end of the season.
Tommy Novak, Nashville Predators
Our second option also comes from the Central Division; Nashville Predators forward Tommy Novak. The American centreman went from being a relatively unknown prospect to a bonafide secondary scorer in 2022-23. After playing in the minors and debuting with just seven points in 22 games with the Preds in 2021-22, he essentially came out of nowhere with 17 goals and 43 points in 51 games last season. Not bad for a 2015 fifth-round pick. At 26 years old, one could say he is a late bloomer but I think he’s just getting started. Had he scored at this rate for a full 82 games last season he’d have finished with 27 goals and 69 points and led the entire team in both categories. Despite his success, Novak re-upped with the Predators on just a one-year, $800,000 contract this summer after completing another previous one-year commitment.
The Predators not giving Novak a multi-year deal worth a bit more money was a slap in the face, but so was signing free agent centre Ryan O’Reilly to a four-year, $18 million deal. In addition, fellow young Preds centre Cody Glass received a two-year, $5 million contract extension this summer after tallying 35 points in 72 games. The club is strangely not giving off the impression that they view Novak as an integral piece of their future, and the Flames could take advantage. He would surely be a perfect fit at the 2C spot if Kadri were to move up to the top line upon Lindholm’s departure, and could probably be had for a draft pick and/or lower-tier prospect. Of course, he too would need a new deal after 2023-24 but would still not command an unaffordably high dollar amount unless he explodes offensively.
Casey Mittelstadt, Buffalo Sabres
Lastly, we have a short-term but potentially long-term option in the form of Buffalo Sabres centreman Casey Mittelstadt. A lottery pick (8th overall) back in 2017, he underperformed or was injured for the first five years of his NHL career. In 2022-23 that changed a bit. He suited up in all 82 games for the first time and was able to register a career-high 15 goals and 59 points. He was able to finally show Sabres fans his immense offensive skill on a consistent basis. Unfortunately for him, Sabres management has acquired two extremely talented centres since he was drafted: Dylan Cozens and Tage Thompson. These two have since surpassed him on the depth chart, leaving Mittelstadt on the third line. The team also has gifted centre prospects such as Matthew Savoie and Noah Östlund that will be ready to crack the roster in the not-so-distant future.
This leaves Mittelstadt in a peculiar position. To add to it, his three-year, $7.5 million contract is up after 2023-24 and with the Sabres seemingly set at centre, they may look to trade him. Like Novak, he may not be a direct Lindholm replacement if the Flames traded for him, but he would be a perfect 2C option. The team can afford him financially at the moment, and being that he is only 24 years of age, he could potentially end up being a core player. He would get a much better chance to play top-six minutes than with Buffalo and could easily supplant Kadri as the 1C if he progresses further. Depending on the centre market this season, he would probably command a mid-to-high draft pick and a prospect.
Related: Calgary Flames: 3 Potential Options for a PTO
First and foremost, I sincerely hope that Lindholm re-signs with the Flames and his trading can be avoided. However, the longer he takes to do so the more restless fans and media get and the more secondary planning has to be done by Conroy and his cabinet. If necessary, Hartman, Novak, and Mittelstadt are all adept hockey players that the Flames would be happy to have on their roster should they find themselves down a top-six centreman.
