Lindholm's current contract is still a huge bargain today. With 50% retention, name a contending team that wouldn't want to add another #1 centre who is reliable on both sides of the puck?
AFAIK, Lindholm's cap hit at the deadline will be (assuming I have the math right) $1.1 million (before retention). (4.850million)x(42/185). (cap hit)x(42 days left in the season divided by a 185 day season).
Name a contender that can't squeeze 550k at the deadline somehow after the Flames retain. That's a ridiculous add for Colorado, for Tampa, for Carolina, NOT for Edmonton, for New Jersey, for whomever else considers themselves a contender. I would imagine that the bidding war would be fairly large.
If Hanifin doesn't re-sign by then, then he would be in the same boat with teams adding him onto the roster for below league minimum at the deadline (with the Flames using their second slot on max retention).
Both would probably return a healthy injection of picks and a good prospect.
I am on the fence on whether or not the Flames should re-sign Lindholm. I really am. I have stated many times that I prefer having the Flames enter into a formal rebuild as I don't really see a contender here. However, I also think that simply doing an excellent job through the draft and prioritizing that can lead to building a contender without having to tear it down, and I do feel Calgary is a good enough organization in terms of drafting and development to do that.
At this point, I just want to see what Lindholm would actually return as an asset that brings a cap hit under a league-minimum deal (assuming, once again, that I have my math right). There would be zero playoff-bound teams (and a few that are close hoping to sneak in) that wouldn't call Conroy.
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