Insider Links An Intriguing Team To Elias Lindholm

The Calgary Flames' Elias Lindholm is considered one of the top trade candidates going forward this season, and while there's been all sorts of speculation about the Boston Bruins and, more recently, the Colorado Avalanche being prime suitors, we now have a new team entering the fray. 

According to NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun, writing in The Athletic, the Carolina Hurricanes are also a team to watch in a potential reunion scenario.

It also wouldn’t surprise me if Carolina at least has had internal discussions about whether it makes sense to try to bring Lindholm back. The caveat there would be that owner Tom Dundon has generally been against paying for rental players, so it probably only works if Lindholm’s signed to an extension.

Lindholm spent the first five years of his career with the Hurricanes after they made him the No. 5 overall selection in the 2013 NHL Draft. And the irony of trying to bring him back only if he'll sign an extension isn't lost on LeBrun. 

"The reason Lindholm was traded from the Hurricanes to the Flames in the first place back in June 2018," he writes, "was over contract talks going off the rails over an extension."

That's now the situation once again, as Lindholm is wrapping up his 6-year, $29.1M contract and is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. 

The Calgary center currently has 8 goals and 23 points in 33 games this season, playing 21 minutes a night. 

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