3 reasons the Canucks must move Elias Lindholm by Friday’s trade deadline

Lindholm’s advanced metrics further indicate how poorly he’s played

Say what you will about advanced metrics and say what you will about statistics in general, but Lindholm’s advanced metrics haven’t worked well in his favor. We already talked about some of his basic stats, and the only positive that stands out is his 17.4 shooting percentage, which has come in part because he’s taken just 23 shots on goal, or 1.53 per game, down from the 2.67 per he was logging in Calgary. 

Lindholm’s Corsi For of 51.5 at 5-on-5 is better than it was with the Flames, but it’s also at its lowest overall since the 2019-20 season. It shows us that Lindholm hasn’t done as much this season to help create scoring chances to the same extent he did between 2020-21 and 2022-23. 

He hasn’t been as effective on the Canucks penalty kill, having been on the ice for seven goals in those 15 contests, leading to an on-ice save percentage of 76.7. The same thing has occurred on the power play, as across 40.2 minutes on the man advantage, Lindholm has been on the ice for just three goals, and a paltry on-ice shooting percentage of 7.7. 

We can go on and on about how poorly he’s played from both basic and advanced statistics. But you get the point. It’s time to trade Lindholm and forget this transaction ever happened back in January. 

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference as of March 7th)