Canucks trade for Flames All-Star center Elias Lindholm

Feb. 1 (UPI) — The Calgary Flames traded All-Star Elias Lindholm to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Andrei Kuzmenko, the rights to prospects Hunter Brzustewicz and Joni Jurmo and first-round and conditional draft picks.

The teams announced the transaction Wednesday night.

“With Andrei coming back in as a player who has played in the NHL. … We feel like we are getting a right-shot, power-play guy that can score goals,” Flames GM Craig Conroy told the team website. “We think that helps our team right now. To get the two draft picks, that’s a future part.

“With Hunter, he is third in scoring in the OHL. We liked him last year, during his draft year. He has something we don’t have. He is a good puck mover, smart, offensive guy and a right shot.

“That’s kinda something we are missing in the organization so we are super excited about having him. Joni is a bigger, hard defender, a real good skater, with good size at 6-4.”

The Flames will receive a first-round pick and a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft as part of the transaction.

Lindholm, 29, totaled nine goals and 23 assists through 49 games this season for the Flames. The 11-year veteran joined the franchise in a 2018 trade from the Carolina Hurricanes.

Lindholm, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, scored 148 goals and registered 209 assists through 418 career appearances. The veteran center is set to hit free agency this off-season.

“First of all, I want to thank Kuzy for all that he did for the Vancouver Canucks,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said of Kuzmenko, according to the team website. “Andrei worked hard at improving his game and trying to adjust to life as a pro in North America.

“In acquiring Elias Lindholm we feel that he vastly improves our hockey team. He is a proven front line performer and will give head coach Rick Tocchet some more options when putting together our top two lines.”

Kuzmenko, 27, scored eight goals and totaled 13 assists through 43 games this season for the Canucks. The left wing signed with the Canucks in 2022 as an undrafted free agent. He totaled 39 goals and 35 assists in 81 games during his rookie campaign. He signed a two-year contract extension last year.

Brzustewicz, 19, was a third-round pick by the Canucks in the 2023 NHL Draft. The American defenseman totaled eight goals and 61 assists in 47 games this season for the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. His 60 points are third-most in the OHL, behind only Anthony Romani (73) and David Goyette (70).

Jurmo, 21, was a third-round pick by the Canucks in the 2020 NHL Draft. The Finnish defenseman appeared in 35 games in Finland’s Liiga, totaling one goal and three assists this season.

The Canucks (33-11-5) have the most wins in the NHL and sit atop the Western Conference’s Pacific Division. They are 8-0-2 over their last 10 games. The Canucks will face the Hurricanes (28-15-5) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C.

The Flames (22-12-5) are in sixth place in the Pacific, with a 5-5 record over their last 10 games. They will battle the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins (31-9-9) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Boston.