I’m Sorry, But The Elias Lindholm Trade Is Bad

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Yeah, I said what I said! You may be wondering why all of a sudden I think the Elias Lindholm trade is bad. It wasn’t too long ago when I wrote an article talking about how I thought the trade was good and that the Canucks did a great job with that trade. Well, time can change thoughts and in this case, I have changed my opinion on what I think about the Elias Lindholm trade.

Lindholm is currently hurt and not playing games but he has also not had the greatest time as a Canuck. He hasn’t looked great at times and only has 9 points in 22 games since the trade. That is not exactly ideal for what the Canucks gave up to acquire him.

But that doesn’t mean he has been all that bad. Lindholm has had some games where he’s looked great on the defensive end of the puck and looked like a true shutdown center, which is something the Canucks were hoping he could be. However, things have been pretty inconsistent on that front as in some games he looks great and in some games not so much.

However, here’s the thing; I don’t think Lindholm is all that bad or anything, but I still think this trade was a mistake. The reason for that is this trade does not move the needle for the Canucks.

Now what does that mean exactly? To me, it means how much further it will improve your team in becoming a Stanley Cup contender. And in my opinion, the Elias Lindholm addition does not move the needle for the Canucks. He wasn’t what they needed the most and they may have been better off going after a different player.

That’s not to say Lindholm is just a bad player who doesn’t improve a team because that’s definitely not the case. I think if Lindholm had landed on a team like the Bruins who could use a two-way center who can produce some offence would’ve been a way better fit for him and he would flourish on a team like that. But for the Canucks, they don’t necessarily need someone like that. It’s nice to have, but it’s not their main area of concern. They needed someone who could drive play and create a bit more offence for the team, specifically on the wing. Elias Lindholm is not known for either of those things so the fit was kind of odd and has been since the trade.

The other thing that makes me think this trade is a mistake is looking at the other players they could’ve got. When looking at some of the other players who moved around the trade deadline, I tend to see more players the Canucks could’ve gone after that would be more of a needle mover than Elias Lindholm. The most notable name being Jake Guentzel.

The Carolina Hurricanes paid for what I think is a cheaper price for Jake Guentzel than what the Canucks gave up for Elias Lindholm, and I think Guentzel is the better player. Giving up a few B-tier prospects and a second-round pick is a steal for the Hurricanes and they were able to add one of the best wingers in the league. Had the Canucks waited a bit, they could’ve got Guenztel instead of Lindholm and I think he’d be a way better fit for the team.

Guentzel would’ve been exactly what the Canucks needed and would’ve fit nicely alongside of Elias Pettersson who has been not had consistent linemates this season, up until recently with Nils Höglander. While Höglander has become a great fit next to Pettersson, it still feels like that line is lacking a good winger and Guentzel could’ve been a great solution to that problem.

When you look at how good Guentzel has been with the Hurricanes thus far, it’s hard not to think about what could have been. He currently has 14 points in 10 games with the team and has brought out another side to the Hurricanes offence. There is a world where the Canucks could’ve had both Lindholm and Guentzel as the Canucks went hard after him at the trade deadline after the Lindholm trade, but they didn’t want to give up more futures just for success this season and wanted to look more long term. While I think that’s probably a good thing to do in the long run, I still wouldn’t have been mad if they had gone for it. But if there were a perfect scenario, I think the Canucks would’ve not gone after Lindholm and instead put all their chips into getting Jake Guentzel. However, that is not a reality we live in.

Another player they could’ve gone after could’ve been Tyler Toffoli. The Winnipeg Jets only gave up a 2nd and 3rd round pick to get Tyler Toffoli and he also does much of what the Canucks were looking for. He drives play and helps solve some of their offensive issues on the wing. Toffoli has also been on the Canucks previously and seemed to have gotten along pretty well with the group so he would’ve been a seamless fit. The team would’ve loved to have Toffoli back and he would’ve been a great fit on this team. And for the cost that the Jets gave up to get him, it would’ve been much more beneficial to the Canucks to do this trade than the Lindholm trade which involved a 1st round pick, a pretty good prospect, and Andrei Kuzmenko who wasn’t great but still had the chance to turn things around.

You probably get the point by now about why getting Elias Lindholm doesn’t move the needle for the Canucks. Again, I don’t think he’s bad, I just don’t think he fits well with this team. They’ve tried him in various different spots on this team and nothing seems to be sticking. I think they are best off having him play with Pettersson since Dakota Joshua is back now they have reunited that third line that was so good at the start of the year. However, Lindholm is injured currently and it sounds like he might be gone for a while. That’s never something you can predict but that also makes this trade sting even more. Who knows if he’ll even be back for the playoffs or not and if he is, who knows how good he will be.

Now don’t get me wrong, I hope in a few week’s time I am completely wrong about this and Elias Lindholm is great and is instrumental in helping this team win a cup. I will gladly be wrong about that, but I don’t think that will happen. All the Canucks can really do at this point is learn from their mistakes and move on forward from there. But it does suck that this doesn’t seem to be working out because you have to take advantage of every chance you have of winning a Stanley Cup.

So how will we look back on this trade in a few years? It likely won’t be good, but again, I am more than happy to be wrong about that. I hope you’re ready for the playoffs because I really don’t know what to expect, but be sure to expect chaos!

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