Report: Canucks Have Price In Mind For Pending UFA Elias Lindholm

The Vancouver Canucks have apparently set their price in contract talks to try to retain center Elias Lindholm. But will it get the job done?

According to hockey insider Elliotte Friedman, the Canucks are willing to go 7 years at $7 million per.

I think the Canucks are willing to go in the 7×7 range, I'm just not sure it's going to get it done... The Canucks want this player.

The big question, of course, is with center Elias Pettersson already signed up for the long term, and JT Miller as well, do the Canucks want to pay that kind of money for a "third line center"? Of course, all three of them have also played some wing, so Vancouver can find a way for the trio to all be part of the top-six.

"I see those guys as flexible players, you can move them around" added Friedman. "You can play Pettersson, Miller, Lindholm all down the middle, but you can move them to the wing, you can move them around. Look how good Vancouver looked with those three guys in their lineup. If I have to stretch my dollars a little bit to keep those three in the lineup, I'll do it and then I'll figure out what I have to do to make it work."

And while Friedman is hearing that Lindholm's camp is wanting more than a $7M AAV, the former Calgary Flame certainly did enjoy his time in Vancouver, so we'll see if he's able to bend a little on his demands. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff has him pegged at an $8M AAV, while AFP Analytics brings Lindholm in at just under $7M.

Interesting to keep in mind that Lindholm is said to have turned down an eight-year offer from the Calgary Flames earlier in the season worth $9M annually.

He finished the 2023-24 season with 15 goals and 29 assists for 44 points with a minus-14 rating.