Over at Sportsnet, our pals Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman dropped a very newsy edition of their 32 Thoughts podcast on Wednesday morning. The duo dove into the goings-on with the Calgary Flames for a decent chunk of the podcast.
Here’s a rundown of what Marek and Friedman discussed.
Let’s dive in!
On Noah Hanifin:
Before transitioning to discuss Elias Lindholm, Friedman added this on Noah Hanifin: “He’s in a situation where at some point in time they’re probably going to move him.”
Later on, Friedman added (while transitioning out of his Lindholm discussion): “[Hanifin has] made his decision that he would like to see what else is out there.”
On Elias Lindholm:
A big, big chunk of Marek and Friedman’s chat centred around Lindholm:
“Now, I think Lindholm and the Flames are talking. I believe that the Flames know that if they want to keep Lindholm, it’s going to be Horvat money, in that area. 8 by 8.5. Both Lindholm and Horvat are Newport guys and I think the Flames understand that that’s where this is going to come in. I think there have been conversations not only about the contract but the direction of the team, which way are the Flames going? I think Lindholm has indicated that if he commits, he wants to know that the team is still going to try to compete. It won’t be a rebuild. I think they know they’ve got to plug in some younger players and I think he’s okay with that, he just doesn’t want it to be a full rebuild.”
Friedman also posited that the rest of the Flames’ off-season business waits on Lindholm: “Lindholm’s decision is the big linchpin to all of this and I’m told that the Flames are not pressuring him to make a decision by the draft. Like if Lindholm waits a little bit longer, if, I don’t think they’re worried about that.”
Goaltenders:
Jacob Markstrom, who has a full no-move clause, likely won’t be going anywhere according to Friedman: “By the way, the other thing I heard, don’t expect Markstrom to be moved. I think there were some rumblings, would Markstrom agree to go anywhere? I heard he wants to come back. So that’s kind of where it stands on him.”
With Markstrom sticking around, Marek asked if a Dan Vladar move is in the works to open a spot for Dustin Wolf. Friedman had this reply: “The goalie market’s gonna be very, very volatile. All these teams that have goalies to move, there’s a lot of pieces around goaltenders out there. That’s not only a challenge for Craig Conroy, I think that’s a challenge for a lot of other GMs, which is to play this game of musical chairs and see which goalies end up where.”
If Hanifin and Lindholm both move on, is it a rebuild?
Hanifin’s a top-pairing blueliner. Lindholm is the team’s top centre. If they both decide to go elsewhere, what does that mean for the Flames?
Here’s Friedman:
“I don’t necessarily think it means they rebuild completely, but I think they have to sit back and decide what this means. If Lindholm stays, they have a number one centre and also a commitment to him that they’re going to continue trying to contend. I think if they don’t have either, then Calgary and their braintrust – Conroy, along with Maloney and Nonis – they have to kind of sit down and say ‘okay, what does this all mean?'”
The 2023 NHL Draft goes June 28 & 29 in Nashville. Free agency opens on July 1.
More must-reads: