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With next to nothing happening in the hockey world now, and throughout August as a whole, I thought it'd be as good of a time as any to profile members of the Calgary Flames.
I'll be commenting on their performances last season as well as projected role and expectations moving forward.
These profiles will be posted in no particular order. Let's start with Elias Lindholm.
Counting stats: 81 games played, 78 points (27 goals, 51 assists), 20:02 average time on ice
5v5 underlyings: 2.07 points/60, +2.11 CF% Rel, +3.62 GF% Rel, +1.50 xGF% Rel, 1.017 PDO
2018-19 review: Lindholm's debut season with the Flames couldn't have gone much better. Check that, it couldn't have gone any better. He showed instant chemistry with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, which allowed him to claim the coveted right wing spot on their line from the get go. He took full advantage, setting career highs in goals, assists, points, shots, shot attempts and scoring chances. Lindholm also posted strong on-ice numbers across the board. He played a big part in what was one of the league's best lines for the vast majority of the season.
Fun fact: Lindholm recorded 51 assists in 2018-19. His previous career high in *points* was 45.
2019-20 outlook: I think Lindholm is in line for another big season. Not as big as last, though. His shooting percentage of 14.84% is likely going to regress and, if history is any indication, his on-ice shooting percentage of 13.48% is almost certainly going to. Lindholm's average on-ice SH% in five seasons prior to last was 8.13%. Playing with Gaudreau and Monahan will boost the numbers, of course, but they shouldn't to that extent.
At any rate, I would still expect Lindholm to comfortably break his career highs prior to last season while serving as a stabilizing two-way player on the top line. As it stands, I don't think he has any real competition for RW1. If anything, the team's lack of an established top-6 RW behind Lindholm could push him down the lineup on occasion to balance things out.
I think something in the ~65 point range, which would still be a big win considering the $4.85 million cap hit, is more reasonable for Lindholm next season.
numbers via naturalstattrick.com and hockey-reference.com
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