Hanifin, Lindholm taking different approaches as contract decisions loom

Two Calgary Flames franchise cornerstones are taking different approaches to their pending free agency.

At the team’s annual charity golf tournament on Wednesday, No. 1 centre Elias Lindholm stared at reporters inquiring about his future, choosing to respond in one-word answers and short sentences.

“Yeah,” the 28-year-old responded when asked point-blank whether he was open to remaining a Calgary Flame long-term.

“I’ve been pretty clear. I’m willing to stay,” Lindholm said later. The Swede is set to play out the final year of a six-year, $29.1 million deal signed prior to the 2018-19 season.

Flames general manager Craig Conroy said the negotiations with Lindholm, who scored 22 goals and 42 assists in 80 games last season, have been productive.

“Elias wants to be here and…we’re working on that with his representation,” Conroy said. “…I think it’s going in the right direction.”

Defenceman Noah Hanifin also stated he was open to staying in the organization beyond this season, despite reports over the summer suggesting the Boston native preferred to sign with an American-based team. He was more open and talkative about his career decisions that lie ahead. 

The 26-year-old is heading into the final year of a six-year, $29.7 million contract he signed in 2018.

“Absolutely,” Hanifin said when asked if the door remained open to an extension in Calgary. “There was lots to digest last summer, after the year we had not making the playoffs and a lot of expectations on the team. So, for me, I just want to see how this year played out a little bit and take my time.”

Lindholm and Hanifin are two of the six Flames who can become unrestricted free agents in 2024, the others being Mikael Backlund, Nikita Zadorov, Chris Tanev and Oliver Kylington. Conroy dealt winger Tyler Toffoli, the team’s top scorer last season, to the New Jersey Devils in the off-season after he had requested a trade.

He insisted the pending free agents have not definitively said they don’t want to remain in Calgary.

“They haven’t said to me they want to be traded or, ‘I don’t want to be here,’” Conroy said.

For Flames fans, it has to be good news that Hanifin and Lindholm are publicly saying they are open to being around the Saddledome long term. Lindholm, in particular, sounded more optimistic about remaining a Flame on Wednesday than he did the last time he was asked by Calgary media about his contract status back in April, when he was very noncommittal about extending his stay in southern Alberta.

Where the two differ, it seems, is in what they value in that next chapter. Lindholm said that the team’s on-ice success in 2023-24 and new leadership (the hiring of Conroy as GM when Brad Treliving departed and the hiring on Ryan Huska as head coach after the firing of Darryl Sutter) would not be a factor in any decision, while Hanifin implied that early-season wins could have an impact in his decision. 

“I’m not sure yet,” Hanifin said when asked what would have to happen for him to consider staying in Calgary beyond this season.

“Right now, it’s just about having a good camp, focusing on the now, coming out and having a good start as a team, winning some hockey games, and seeing where it goes from there.”

The tightrope that Conroy has to walk as general manager is avoiding another Johnny Gaudreau situation and letting the players walk for nothing. Like Hanifin and Lindholm, Gaudreau said he was open to another contract as a Flame. He ultimately signed in Columbus. 

Conroy has emphasized asset management and changing how the organization handles these situations. Despite publicly saying they’re open-minded about long-term futures in Calgary, the team’s top centre and a top-four blueliner, two players who could surely command significant returns on the trade market, enter training camp without extensions.

What would happen should the Flames get off to a hot start with both players still unsigned around the trade deadline? 

“Those are the hardest decisions I’ll have to make in this job,” Conroy said. “You just don’t want guys to walk for nothing. That’s the hard part…those are the really, really tough decisions.”