While the trade certainly wouldn’t have been one-for-one, Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the Calgary Flames were interested in making a trade with the Anaheim Ducks at the NHL Trade Deadline that would have seen Sean Monahan head to the Ducks and Hampus Lindholm become a Calgary Flames defenseman. Ultimately, the Flames couldn’t put together a package strong enough to compete with Boston, who traded for the blueliner and then signed him to an eight-year extension.
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Friedman writes in his latest 32 Thoughts column, “I do think Calgary took a looooooooooong look at Hampus Lindholm, but couldn’t do what Boston did. Sean Monahan would have had to be part of it, as the Flames needed to move money to make it work.” What else Calgary was willing to throw isn’t clear, but Boston wound up moving a 2022 first-round pick, a 2023 second-round pick, a 2024 second-round pick, Urho Vaakanainen and John Moore in the deal. It was a fairly sizeable trade and Calgary had already given up picks to land Tyler Toffoli and Calle Jarnkrok in earlier deadline trades.
Not only that, but it’s unlikely Anaheim would have eagerly traded for Monahan without taking a sweetener as part of the deal. Calgary would have had to move salary out to fit Lindholm in but that doesn’t mean Anaheim was open to taking a player who has struggled offensively this season and is on the verge of being a healthy scratch for the first time since 2016.
This Trade Would Have Been Calgary Going All In
If the Flames had been able to pull this off, it would have seen the team send a number of prospects and picks to the Ducks for a rental and it would have signified Calgary’s desire to win the Stanley Cup this season, sacrificing much of their future to do so.
It would have made the Flames a contender coming out of the Western Conference and put them up there in the conversation with the Colorado Avalchance.
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