Friedman: Canucks ‘conceding’ that Elias Lindholm will likely leave Vancouver as a UFA

It’s looking less and less likely that Elias Lindholm will still be a member of the Vancouver Canucks next season.

Lindholm has yet to sign a contract extension with the Canucks since being acquired from the Calgary Flames in January. The 29-year-old centre struggled to find his footing in the regular season but rebounded in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, racking up five goals and 10 points in 13 games as the Canucks reached the Western Conference semifinals.

During his appearance on Wednesday’s edition of the Jeff Marek Show, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested the Canucks may have already turned their attention to other matters after Lindholm’s camp reportedly turned down a seven-year offer worth somewhere in the ballpark of $50 million, in total.

“I think the Canucks are conceding they won’t be able to do Lindholm,” Friedman said on Wednesday’s show. “I never want to say never, but as it stands right now, I think they’re moving on and saying, ‘Okay, who’s our next target?’”

Lindholm cost the Canucks a pretty penny when they acquired him from the Flames on January 31. In exchange for the final few months of Lindholm’s contract, the Canucks sent Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, their own 2024 first-round pick, and the New Jersey Devils’ 2024 fourth-round pick to Calgary.

The Carolina Hurricanes originally selected Lindholm with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. The Boden, Sweden product made his NHL debut with the club the following season and spent five years with the Hurricanes before being traded to the Flames in 2018.

Through 818 career NHL games over parts of 11 seasons with the Hurricanes, Flames, and Canucks, Lindholm has collected 218 goals and 557 points. He’s added 13 goals and 27 points in 40 playoff contests with Calgary and Vancouver.

If he does end up testing unrestricted free agency, Lindholm will likely be the best centre readily available to teams on the open market. His counterparts in that category include Chandler Stephenson, Sean Monahan, Max Domi, Jack Roslovic, and Alex Wennberg.

In addition to Lindholm, the Canucks have eight other pending UFAs of note on whom they’ll need to make decisions before July 1 rolls around: Nikita Zadorov, Dakota Joshua, Tyler Myers, Teddy Blueger, Sam Lafferty, Ian Cole, Casey DeSmith, and Mark Friedman.