They were two of the big pieces Craig Conroy had to trade away.
The Calgary Flames GM’s wheeling-and-dealing of soon-to-be free-agents was the biggest story of the season a year ago, and the trades that sent Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks were major moves.
Neither player was going to stay in Calgary past the end of the 2023-24 season, and Zadorov even requested a trade.
As it turns out, neither of them stayed in Vancouver, either, and both signed deals in free-agency to join the Boston Bruins this summer.
Both will be in the lineup against the Flames on Thursday evening, which makes it a reasonable time to reflect on the deals and see how Conroy did.
The trade: Canucks get Zadorov, the Flames get for a 2024 fifth-round draft pick and a 2026 third-round draft pick.
Why it had to happen: With unrestricted free-agency looming, Zadorov didn’t seem thrilled that the Flames seemed to be negotiating with Lindholm and Noah Hanifin but not with him. Eventually, that led to a trade request.
How did the Canucks do: Vancouver got 54 regular season games out of the 6-foot-6 defenceman during which he scored five goals and added nine assists. They were loading up for the playoffs, though, and that’s where Zadorov stepped-up. He scored four goals and added four assists in 13 games and was a +3 as the Canucks eliminated the Nashville Predators in Round 1 before losing in seven games to the Edmonton Oilers the next round. As we mentioned earlier, he then signed in Boston.
How did the Flames do: Let’s remember that Zadorov was playing third-pairing minutes for the Flames and put them in a corner when his agent went public with a trade request. The return wasn’t overwhelming, but it was probably never going to be.
Maybe they strike gold with the third-round pick they acquired in two years’ time, we’ll see, but they dealt away their 2024 fifth-rounder to the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline in exchange for defenceman Nikita Okhotiuk.
Okhotiuk recorded one assist in nine games at the tail-end of the 2023-24 season for the Flames before signing a deal with CSKA Moscow in the KHL. The Flames retain his NHL rights if he decides to come back to North America.
The trade:Canucks get Lindholm, Flames get Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, a 2024 first-round draft pick and a conditional 2024 fourth-round draft pick.
Why it had to happen: The Flames reportedly made Lindholm an offer for an eight-year deal worth at least $8-million annually prior to last season, but he didn’t accept it.
How did the Canucks do: They gave a lot for what amounted to 26 regular season games and 13 playoff tilts out of Lindholm. The Swedish centre did record five goals and five assists in 13 playoff games, so there can be no complaints about that, but he then signed a seven-year deal with an average annual value of $7.75-million with the Bruins. The Canucks were going all-in at the time, so the deal made sense for them, but you do wonder if there isn’t some buyer’s remorse.
How did the Flames do: Brzustewicz looks like a high-end prospect and could be a foundational piece of the Flames defence going forward. The 19-year-old blueliner had 92 points for the Kitchener Rangers last year and is adjusting to life as a pro with the Calgary Wranglers after a strong training camp with the Flames. Excitement is high about his future, as it should be.
At 6-foot-4, the smooth-skating Jurmo has the size to play in the NHL, but is adjusting to his first season playing professional hockey in North America and is currently in the ECHL with the Rapid City Rush. The Finnish defenceman may not be a sure thing, but the Flames believe he’s got a bright future.
They ended up using the first-round pick – 28th overall – they got from the Canucks in the Lindholm deal to select Matvei Gridin, who is playing in the QMJHL this year and as seven goals and eight assists in 13 games for the Shawinigan Cataractes. He also had 83 points in 60 games for the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL next year and expectations are very high.
The conditional fourth-round pick they received from the Canucks ended up being 107th overall and they flipped it to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for the 150th pick, which they used to select Luke Misa, and the 170th pick, which they used to take Hunter Laing.
As for Kuzmenko, he’s off to a slow start this season, but did score 14 goals and add 11 assists in 29 games for the Flames at the end of last year. An unrestricted free-agent next summer, he could be traded away before the deadline, which would only increase the already substantial haul the Flames received for dealing Lindholm.
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