Confirmed Trade: [VAN/CGY] Elias Lindholm for Andrei Kuzmenko, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo, 2024 1st, cond. 2024 4th

DJJones

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Nov 18, 2014
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I agree with you more than my fellow Flames fan here. The thing that makes me happy with the trade is not Kuzmenko. It's not the 1st round pick. It's Brzustewicz. I'm more excited about him than any Flames prospect except for Wolf. I think he's going to be a #2/#3 defenseman for us for a decade.

I mean, I'm quite happy with the first round pick too. And I'll be ecstatic if we can turn Kuzmenko into another solid asset.
 
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wintersej

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People do realize that most if not all high end point producers in the league get sheltered five on five starts, right? Panarin is sitting at damn near 90% o-zone starts for crying out loud. There is roles in this league for all types of players and skillsets. Kuzmenko may have certain deficiencies to his game like the vast majority of NHL players do in some regard, but there is no evidence to suggest that he's this massive liability defensively that many shoehorn him as. Additionally he has single handedly turned the Flames PP from a 26th ranked unit, to a top 10 unit after his arrival. He's a dangerous and creative threat.

For sure. The only question is if Kuzmenko is good enough to be worth spending that usage on. You can really only give one of your lines that kind of extreme offensive focus.

If you are not giving him that kind of usage, all his warts go under the magnifying glass and he loses value very very quickly.

So can Kuz be that top line guy on a good team, or if he that guy who can put up points on a bad team, but its not enough points to make the bad team good?
 

SeanMoneyHands

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Double Dion

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I mean, I'm quite happy with the first round pick too. And I'll be ecstatic if we can turn Kuzmenko into another solid asset.
Yes, the pick is nice. I just think people who think we're flipping Kuzmenko for a 1st and prospect are delusional. I think we're talking about a guy who gets moved next TDL for a 4th round pick. Maybe a 3rd if we retain 50%.
 

sting101

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Feb 8, 2012
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Fantastic game 1.

Having him at C with Joshua and Garland is what gives us a chance to win. Isn't that why you make a splash at a trade deadline?

Lol at the regular season dick measure contest. Where and what would we do with Kuz pissing off Tocc and getting benched plus having to use Blueger at 3C vs rolling 3 dangerous lines.

Probably the same crowd taking shots at Mccrimmon for getting Eichel. Glad Kuz was having success while Lindholm now looks like a great addition for the Stanley cup playoffs and a shot at a Cup
 
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Sergei Shirokov

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Canucks need to keep Lindholm around imo.

It wasn't an easy transition but the defensive side of his game has always been present & I really think he adds another layer that we need if we're trying to contend.

He takes the pressure off Miller/Pettersson at 5on5, he's an ace #1Pk guy+faceoff man, and has fit in very well with Garland/Joshua. This is the kind of C you want as a contender. Will require a haircut for us but I hope they can figure something out, I really like his game, and I think he's got more to give as he showed tonight.
 

Lupuls Grit

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Canucks need to keep Lindholm around imo.

It wasn't an easy transition but the defensive side of his game has always been present & I really think he adds another layer that we need if we're trying to contend.

He takes the pressure off Miller/Pettersson at 5on5, he's an ace #1Pk guy+faceoff man, and has fit in very well with Garland/Joshua. This is the kind of C you want as a contender. Will require a haircut for us but I hope they can figure something out, I really like his game, and I think he's got more to give as he showed tonight.
Disagree. I like Lindholm but the Canucks should prioritize Hronek, Joshua and Zadorov. Blueger will cost a lot less than Lindholm and can play 3C. Don't get me wrong - I would prefer Lindholm as he is a better, more versatile player than Blueger but tough choices have to be made.
 

frightenedinmatenum2

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They at least got value from dumping Kuzmenko. Whether he has bounced back on Calgary is irrelevant. Had he stayed on Vancouver, he wasn't going to have the same turn around. Then it may have cost them a 1st round pick to dump him in the offseason.

So while the trade is still a close to complete failure, they at least walk away with cap space.
 

bringbacktheskate604

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Jul 20, 2022
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He keeps playing like this I want a Toffoli deal
I'm a Kuzmenko fan and have been since day 1 but the problem with him is a team buying at the deadline with cup aspirations can't play Kuzmenko in the top six come playoff time if said team plays any type of system that includes defense.

He thrived under Bruce for that exact reason but under Tochett he became literally unplayable.

Even in Calgary on a team going nowhere he was demoted and even scratched. He had a good 1st game and then kinda just faded away until the last 10 ish games when the games meant absolutely nothing and teams weren't exactly going balls to the wall.

I think Kuzmenko ends up bouncing around rebuilding teams that are desperate for scoring and a guy that fans will cheer for because not only is he a super human being but he's fun as hell to watch. He would be a great for in Chicago.
Maybe this summer he finally decides to take his training seriously and figures out how to play defense and learn systems but I mean Tochett and company tried without much success.
 
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Zirakzigil

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I'm a Kuzmenko fan and have been since day 1 but the problem with him is a team buying at the deadline with cup aspirations can't play Kuzmenko in the top six come playoff time if said team plays any type of system that includes defense.

He thrived under Bruce for that exact reason but under Tochett he became literally unplayable.

Even in Calgary on a team going nowhere he was demoted and even scratched. He had a good 1st game and then kinda just faded away until the last 10 ish games when the games meant absolutely nothing and teams weren't exactly going balls to the wall.

I think Kuzmenko ends up bouncing around rebuilding teams that are desperate for scoring and a guy that fans will cheer for because not only is he a super human being but he's fun as hell to watch. He would be a great for in Chicago.
Maybe this summer he finally decides to take his training seriously and figures out how to play defense and learn systems but I mean Tochett and company tried without much success.
He wasn’t healthy for the middle part of his time with Calgary. Once he became healthy he was lights out. You’d be hard pressed to find a flames fan who isn’t happy with him.
 

krutovsdonut

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Yes, the pick is nice. I just think people who think we're flipping Kuzmenko for a 1st and prospect are delusional. I think we're talking about a guy who gets moved next TDL for a 4th round pick. Maybe a 3rd if we retain 50%.
just by scoring again he is showing he was not a one season wonder. as a canuck fan i still think he was worth way more than we got for him. at minimum, on a rebuilding team he can keep fan morale up. but i was really surprised that nobody would take a chance on that kind of scoring touch working in a different system.
 
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Double Dion

Jets fan 28/06/2014
Feb 9, 2011
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Canucks need to keep Lindholm around imo.

It wasn't an easy transition but the defensive side of his game has always been present & I really think he adds another layer that we need if we're trying to contend.

He takes the pressure off Miller/Pettersson at 5on5, he's an ace #1Pk guy+faceoff man, and has fit in very well with Garland/Joshua. This is the kind of C you want as a contender. Will require a haircut for us but I hope they can figure something out, I really like his game, and I think he's got more to give as he showed tonight.
PK and faceoffs are his 2 elite attributes. He's pretty good defensively even though analytics don't love his defensive game. He's got some offense, he can forecheck. Basically he has no weaknesses.

I do think he's still going to get paid this offseason though. Does Vancouver want him for 6-7M for 7 years? I think that's the number.
 

BCNate

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Apr 3, 2016
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They at least got value from dumping Kuzmenko. Whether he has bounced back on Calgary is irrelevant. Had he stayed on Vancouver, he wasn't going to have the same turn around. Then it may have cost them a 1st round pick to dump him in the offseason.

So while the trade is still a close to complete failure, they at least walk away with cap space.
Canucks do not win that game last night without Lindholm, he was fantastic. This is why they made the deal. Couldn't care less how he played in the regular season, how he is graded in this deal started last night. Way to early to call the deal a failure from the Canucks POV, especially if they re-sign him.

I'm stoked to see Kuzy, one of my all time favorite Canucks personalities, but he was never going to see the success that he had with the Flames in Tocchets system.

Flames got some pieces for their rebuild and a player that makes them fun to watch, Canucks got a key piece for a playoff run, both teams got what they wanted out of this.
 

bringbacktheskate604

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Jul 20, 2022
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They at least got value from dumping Kuzmenko. Whether he has bounced back on Calgary is irrelevant. Had he stayed on Vancouver, he wasn't going to have the same turn around. Then it may have cost them a 1st round pick to dump him in the offseason.

So while the trade is still a close to complete failure, they at least walk away with cap space.
How is the trade a complete failure when the entire reason he was brought here was with the playoffs in mind.

I mean not that it matters but he was yo-yoed around the top 9 during a 7 game road trip where there was no practice time. He had 1 really bad game and was clearly injured. and true he wasn't scoring but he still made us better defensively and on the pk.

After he returned and found his wingers he had 6 points in 7 games, was 60+% on FO .

He was easily the 2nd best forward last night and since he was literally aquired for a hopefully long playoff run how in Gods name can this trade be considered a failure?
Regular season points on a team going nowhere while getting pp1 time and playing with two of the flames most offensive players, was a completely different scenario than Lindholm who is being used as a shutdown centre with little pp time and tons of defensive zone draws.

I hope if he continues to play this well and he enjoys being here and realizes that he's likely not gonna get 7.5-8 million from a contender on July 1st and takes a fair deal I'd love to have him back along with Dakota and keep that line together.
 

Raistlin

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Aug 25, 2006
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Bottomline, as we can see last night, both teams got what they wanted. Lindholm basically elevated the Garland/Joshua line into a bonafide 2nd line. If EP's wrist/legs get better and Hog gets over his jitters. Canucks can roll the 3 scoring lines that is required for a contending team's playoff run.
 

DJJones

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Nov 18, 2014
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I'm a Kuzmenko fan and have been since day 1 but the problem with him is a team buying at the deadline with cup aspirations can't play Kuzmenko in the top six come playoff time if said team plays any type of system that includes defense.

He thrived under Bruce for that exact reason but under Tochett he became literally unplayable.

Even in Calgary on a team going nowhere he was demoted and even scratched. He had a good 1st game and then kinda just faded away until the last 10 ish games when the games meant absolutely nothing and teams weren't exactly going balls to the wall.

I think Kuzmenko ends up bouncing around rebuilding teams that are desperate for scoring and a guy that fans will cheer for because not only is he a super human being but he's fun as hell to watch. He would be a great for in Chicago.
Maybe this summer he finally decides to take his training seriously and figures out how to play defense and learn systems but I mean Tochett and company tried without much success.

You're acting like scoring, low defense wingers aren't loaded on every team in the league. Shit that's the norm.

Sounds like Vancouver gave up on him and he alternatively gave up on them. Statistically he's been one of our better players defensively. If he's this good 75% of the time teams will be lining up.
 

Double Dion

Jets fan 28/06/2014
Feb 9, 2011
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You're acting like scoring, low defense wingers aren't loaded on every team in the league. Shit that's the norm.

Sounds like Vancouver gave up on him and he alternatively gave up on them. Statistically he's been one of our better players defensively. If he's this good 75% of the time teams will be lining up.
Are we actually going to pretend he's not exclusively started in the offensive zone? I mean he's got skill, no question. There's also no question he's a bottom 3 player in the entire league defensively.
 

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