Insiders Tie Elias Lindholm To Western Contender

Calgary Flames' veteran Elias Lindholm remains one of the top trade candidates around the league, and on Monday, not one, but two respected hockey insiders tied the veteran center to the Colorado Avalanche. 

And it all has to do with a move that the Avs made last week, unexpectedly trading Tomas Tatar, whom they'd just signed to a free agent deal before the season, to the Seattle Kraken. Could it have something to do with the $1.5M that Colorado freed up from their cap? 

Elliotte Friedman offered this up on his 32 Thoughts podcast:

Everybody was saying 'ok, what's the other shoe (that's going to drop)'?There isn’t a contender in the league who isn’t trying to figure out what the Avalanche are up to, I know some people suspect (Elias) Lindholm, but they’re not the only ones, but I know some people suspect that’s one of the guys that they’re eyeing.

At the same time, on Sportsnet Radio Monday morning, Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli was even more specific:

When you move on from Tatar, they've now get exactly enough cap space to land someone like Elias Lindholm — to the dollar, I think... Does this mean that the Avalance who have struggled at center for the last year and a half will take a run at Lindholm?... It certainly makes you wonder.

Indeed, after that Tatar move, the Avs currently have $4.825M in cap space. Lindholm's cap hit? $4.85M. Hmm. Sounds like they could be on to something. 

The Avalanche are expected by many to make some kind of big move in the weeks to come. "There's no question that they are lurking out there," reiterated Friedman. It's something that we'll be keeping our eyes on.  

Photo: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports