Elias Lindholm just hasn’t looked right since his early days as a Vancouver Canuck and, as Rick Tocchet has confirmed, he won’t play at all against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.
Tocchet addressed Lindholm’s situation in his media availability prior to Monday’s game at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, confirming that the veteran centre is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.
Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma subsequently tweeted out another quote from Tocchet about Lindholm’s status, which was light on details about whether the Canucks would consider giving him a longer break to recover.
“Somewhat maintenance and we’ve got to look at some stuff and evaluate every day,” Tocchet said. “I don’t know at this point about [shutting him down], to be honest. It’s about feel and we’ll see how it shapes out day-to-day.”
"They're a good hockey team. We just got to make sure we play our game. That's really the message tonight."
🗣 Hear from Head Coach Rick Tocchet ahead of tonight's game versus the Kings.@theprovince | #Canucks pic.twitter.com/QFmVuEj7P9
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 25, 2024
Lindholm is currently in the midst of his worst statistical season since he joined the Calgary Flames from the Carolina Hurricanes back in 2018. The Boden, Sweden product has 14 goals and 41 points in 71 games this year, including just nine points (five goals, four assists) in 22 games since being acquired by the Canucks.
The Flames netted five assets in trading Lindholm to the Canucks back on January 31. Vancouver sent two draft picks, two prospects (including Hunter Brzustewicz), and forward Andrei Kuzmenko to Calgary in exchange for Lindholm, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
When in the lineup, Lindholm has been an effective defensive forward and penalty killer for the Pacific Division-leading Canucks, but his offensive upside has yet to translate in his new environment. He snapped a month-long scoring drought with an empty-net goal against the Flames back on March 23.
Lindholm currently makes $4.85 million against the salary cap and was believed to be angling for a massive raise — potentially even into the ballpark of $9 million per year — in his previous contract talks with the Flames. At this point, it’s difficult to envision him commanding nearly that much on his next deal.
Through 814 career games over parts of 11 NHL seasons with the Hurricanes, Flames, and Canucks, Lindholm has collected 217 goals and 554 points. He’s added eight goals and 17 points in 27 playoff contests.
