The reason for Elias Lindhom's departure from Vancouver revealed
Barring any changes over the next few weeks, it appears that Elias Lindholm's time with the Vancouver Canucks may be coming to an end.
Yesterday, it was revealed that he may have turned down a long-term contract offer from the Vancouver Canucks in the range of seven years at $7 million per season.
On the 32 Thoughts podcast on Tuesday, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman mentioned that someone told him Lindholm might not like the idea of being a third line centerman or someone who moves to the wing just to be in the top-six on occasion.
Friedman added that he had people tell him, including a player, that they didn't believe being a third line centerman would appeal to Elias Lindholm.
Couple guys said including a player that they weren't convinced being 3rd line C would appeal to Lindholm." Friedman said.
With the Canucks set down the middle in their top-six with Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, bringing back Lindholm may not be an option if he's not willing to take a lesser role. Which is understandable, especially when considering Lindholm will have other opportunities in free agency to be a second line centerman or even on the first line. One team that he's been linked to, even before the Canucks traded for him, was the Boston Bruins. The Bruins are pretty thin down the middle after the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci in the summer of 2023.
Lindholm, a native of Boden, Sweden, didn't have a great regular season with the Canucks, putting up 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 26 games, but took his game to the next level in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, recording ten points (five goals, five assists) in 13 contests.
If the Canucks are unable to re-sign Elias Lindholm, it'll be interesting to see where he ends up once the free agency window opens at 12 pm ET on July 1st.
| POLL | ||
Who should the Canucks target in free agency for their top-six forward group? | ||
| Jake Guentzel | 927 | 53.5 % |
| Tyler Toffoli | 625 | 36.1 % |
| Sean Monahan | 181 | 10.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
