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The NHL trade deadline on March 21 is shaping up to be one of the most interesting in recent memory. There are numerous high-end players available at every position, and Stanley Cup contenders that are looking to go all-in have multiple roads to examine and possibly take.
For squads looking for help on the blue line, Hampus Lindholm is one of the more attractive options. In February, TheFourthPeriod.com reported that the pending undrafted free agent was leaning toward testing the market. More recently, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff wrote that the Anaheim Ducks’ fresh regime is reluctant to give out term, which could further push Lindholm toward seeing what’s out there.
New general manager Pat Verbeek recently reiterated his desire to re-sign the 28-year-old but told season-ticket holders that if the two parties could not reach an extension, he’d trade the blueliner:
“I’m trying to sign these players, but if it doesn’t work out, I might have to make some tough decisions and trade them. I’d be worried if they walked out the door without getting anything in return. I wouldn’t be doing my job well if I let that happen. We’re going to do our best to get it done, and if not, we’ll have to go in another direction.”
With that in mind, we’re going to identify a few possible landing spots for Lindholm and take a stab at some potential trade packages.
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In the words of Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now, the Boston Bruins “are zeroed in on acquiring a left-shot defenseman before the March 21 NHL trade deadline.” He examines whether New Jersey Devils blueliner P.K. Subban would be a good fit for the B’s.
We’ll do them one better in Lindholm.
Boston is looking to solidify its top four ahead of a run at the Stanley Cup and has been connected to just about every left-handed defender on the market.
If general manager Don Sweeney is weary about the high asking price for Jakob Chychrun—another defenseman the Bruins are in on, according TSN’s Darren Dreger (h/t Nick Goss of NBC Sports)—then snagging Lindholm as a rental might be a less expensive option who would still make an impact.
One could even argue that Lindholm is the more desirable of the two, depending on whether you think Chychrun’s 2020-21 campaign (41 points in 56 games) was a mirage.
Regardless, it’s clear that this is an area that the Bruins are aggressively trying to improve. Lindholm could be a more long-term fit, but here we’re going to assume that this wouldn’t be a sign-and-trade situation.
Like in Florida, he wouldn’t be breaking up a dominant top pairing, instead creating a rock-solid second unit. He’s more of a Swiss army knife defender than Chychrun and could make Boston’s special teams even stronger.
To the Bruins: Hampus Lindholm
To the Ducks: Jake DeBrusk, Zach Senyshyn and a conditional 2023 second-round pick (pick stays with Boston if Lindholm leaves via free agency)
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In his report, Seravalli noted the Florida Panthers are believed to have expressed interest in Lindholm. He’d be a fantastic fit for a team that has the third-best chance of winning the Stanley Cup, according to Money Puck.
They’re trailing the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning as true favorites, however, and their reported attraction to Lindholm seems to indicate that they know they need to acquire a real needle-mover. Florida’s top pairing is already set in stone, with Aaron Ekblad and MacKenzie Weegar holding things down.
Of the 119 defensive pairs that have spent 200-plus minutes together, their expected goals for percentage of 58 ranks ninth. Lindholm probably wouldn’t be asked to play top-line minutes, instead solidifying the second unit and giving the Panthers a top-six group that is championship-worthy.
CapFriendly gives Florida $3.8 million of cap space to work with at the deadline, so Anaheim would either be asked to retain some of Lindholm’s $5.2 million cap hit, or a third party would need to get involved. That’s doable, however.
The Panthers have already traded their first- and second-round selections in the 2022 draft and might be reluctant to empty the coffer ahead of a loaded 2023 edition. Still, the Ducks would likely be looking for an NHL-ready young player and some futures for Lindholm.
To the Panthers: Hampus Lindholm (50 percent retained salary)
To the Ducks: Owen Tippett, Evan Nause (No. 56 in 2021) and a 2023 third-round pick
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The New York Rangers are going to have *checks notes* all of the cap space to work with at the trade deadline. CapFriendly has them slated to have $31.2 million over the next few weeks.
As such, general manager Chris Drury and the Blueshirts could be in play for just about anyone. They’ve been connected to multiple pending UFAs and need help at forward as well.
That won’t preclude New York from beefing up its blue line, though. Adam Fox has been playing way too much, and it is starting to negatively impact his performance on the ice. That isn’t what you want to see from your best defender with the playoffs still several weeks away.
Acquiring someone like Lindholm would give the Rangers another defender who they could roll out safely for 20-plus minutes per night. Since his second year in the league, he’s played an average of 22:37 per game. The Fox-Ryan Lindgren pairing hasn’t been overly effective, and Lindholm could be an upgrade there.
He could work alongside Jacob Trouba on the second unit too, solidifying a top four that has been shaky at times. New York is in the bottom third of the NHL in average shots they give up. Making life a little easier for Igor Shesterkin should be a top priority.
Since the Rangers need help at right wing too, we’re going to beef up this trade a bit.
To the Rangers: Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell
To the Ducks: Nils Lundkvist, Vitali Kravtsov, conditional 2022 second-round pick (becomes a first if the Rangers make the Stanley Cup Final), 2023 second-round pick
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The Carolina Hurricanes don’t have the cap space needed to add Lindholm outright, so dealing for him would be tricky. CapFriendly gives them less than $300,000 to work with at the deadline, and general manager Don Waddell would likely need to loop in a third team to make it work.
This is a Stanley Cup contender through and through, however, and adding another top-flight defenseman could put this team over the top. Carolina already rosters Jaccob Slavin, who might be one of the most underrated hockey players in the world, and Brett Pesce.
Slavin is the kind of defender who makes his partner better. Just ask Tony DeAngelo, who was on pace for a career year prior to getting hurt at the end of February. Adding Lindholm would give the Hurricanes another blueliner who is capable of carrying his own pair.
Ethan Bear hasn’t worked out the way Carolina was hoping when it acquired him from the Edmonton Oilers. He’s skating on the top pair with Slavin, but that’s more because of how the latter makes his linemates look so good.
DeAngelo should be back in time for the playoffs—his original time frame was a month—and he’d slot back in on the top pair with Slavin. That’d leave Lindholm to form an outstanding second unit with Brett Pesce. Having one of those two pairings on the ice for 85 percent of a playoff game would create matchup nightmares.
Here we’re going to route Lindholm to the Seattle Kraken first. The team has said it’s open to retaining salary for a price, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The Ducks are also going to be asked to retain half of Lindholm’s cap hit before swapping him to Seattle, who’d retain half again. That’d bring his cap hit down to $1.3 million.
Carolina is including Ian Cole in the deal to make the money work.
To the Hurricanes: Hampus Lindholm
To the Kraken: 2023 fourth-round pick
To the Ducks: Ian Cole, Ryan Suzuki, Joey Keane and a 2022 fourth-round pick
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The needs of the St. Louis Blues have come into focus over the last few weeks. It’s not too difficult to figure out what a team needs at the deadline when it tries to use Marco Scandella on the first defensive pairing. That’s where he found himself upon returning from injury on March 10.
If the Blues fancy themselves a contender and want to get through the likes of the Colorado Avalanche and Calgary Flames come playoff time, they’ll need to upgrade their blue line. They’ve been connected to Ben Chiarot because he brings a physical element that St. Louis lacks.
There are multiple reasons why they should stay away from the Montreal Canadiens defender, however. Even though the referees put their whistles in their pockets come playoff time, he doesn’t tend to make his team better when he’s on the ice.
The same can’t be said for Lindholm, who would immediately become the most complete left-handed defenseman on St. Louis’ roster. He’d slot in nicely alongside a resurgent Colton Parayko, leaving Justin Faulk and Torey Krug on the second unit.
That isn’t a group that is going to push anyone around during a seven-game series, but it’s tough not to like that top four’s ability to break the puck out of the defensive zone.
St. Louis has even less cap space than the Hurricanes—not even $120,000, per CapFriendly—and would need to loop in a team like Seattle to make things work. We’re going to use the Kraken as a broker here again, but the Arizona Coyotes would work too.
We have Klim Kostin heading to Anaheim as well to make the dollars work.
To the Blues: Hampus Lindholm
To the Kraken: A 2022 fourth-round pick
To the Ducks: Klim Kostin and a 2023 first-round pick
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