Elias Lindholm was almost a Calgary Flame long before the recent Dougie Hamilton trade. One of the top-rated European skaters in his draft class, the Flames were rumoured to have closely scouted Lindholm in 2013, with their preference coming down to the Boden, Sweden native, and Sean Monahan. When Lindholm was picked fifth overall by the Carolina Hurricanes, it made the Monahan choice at No. 6 a fait accompli.



Like Monahan, Lindholm basically jumped straight into the NHL as a teenager. Whereas the Flames’ pivot has consistently managed to grow his offensive production, Lindholm has run in place. His output has varied between 39 and 45 points a year since his rookie season, he’s never scored more than 17 goals, nor cracked 50 points, and he’s not particularly adept at driving play.



This kind of “lack of identity” in the player no doubt led to the Hurricane’s ambivalence toward re-signing Lindholm this summer, particularly since...