New arrivals audition for top line role
Lindholm, Neal top candidates to replace Ferland alongside Gaudreau, Monahan
Elias Lindholm only arrived in the city late last week, jet-lagged and trying to get his body on Mountain standard time, while James Neal rolled in from Nashville early this week.
And while the two have been only skating informally so far — a handful of ice times set up at the Scotiabank Saddledome — the analysis has already begun.
Heck, the analysis began back in June and July when both players were acquired by Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving and lawn-chair bosses from Lake Chaparral to Arbour Lake started determining who would be the best fit for the team’s top line. With the off-season departure of Micheal Ferland to the Carolina Hurricanes, the logical assumption with making a trade of that magnitude and signing a high-profile player is that both Lindholm and Neal will get long looks at playing with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan.
So the ongoing storyline becomes the NHL’s latest version of The Bachelor. Who claims the final rose is still to be determined.
“The past three or four years, we’ve been hopping around different right-wingers,” Gaudreau said following a light skate at the Saddledome ahead of Wednesday ’s voluntary veteran fitness/medical testing. “And it’s an easy toss-up. You don’t care who you’re going to play with. They’re both talented players. They’re both smart players. I think you could build some good chemistry with either one of them.
“That’s where training camp comes into play. You have to come together quickly and try to get off to a good start in the season.”
While Flames prospects hit the ice later this week and over the weekend, the relaxed skating sessions among the veteran players will continue along with the subtleties of chemistry building.
Lindholm, 23, is a right-shot centre who alternated between wing and pivot last season with the Hurricanes and was drafted fifth overall in 2013 — one spot before Monahan.
“I’ve played against him and seen him enough and I know that he’s a great player,” Monahan said. “He’s going to help out our team a lot. He’s good in the faceoff circle and he’s smart. He’s defensively aware. He can shoot the puck. He can make plays. He’s a solid twoway guy.”
Gaudreau’s research on Lindholm, a six-foot-one, 192-pound Swede, was similar.
“Heard a lot of good things about him,” Gaudreau said. “He’s a skilled, smart player. We could use some more scoring up front. Last year, we didn’t get enough scoring up top, so it’s huge for us to get a player like that. I’m excited to get some offence to our team and hopefully get some five-, six-goal games for the crowd here at the Dome.”
Meanwhile, Neal is billed as a natural left-winger, patrolling the Golden Knights’ second line last season, where he utilized his powerful shot. But in Nashville, he predominantly played the right side there with Ryan Johansen, Mike Fisher and Calle Jarnkrok, so he has some experience on his off wing.
“Both of those guys are elite players,” said Monahan. “Nealer puts the puck in the net every season. He’s a proven goal-scorer in this league. To add a guy like that to the mix as a veteran player, he’s been through the playoffs and he’s hungry to win. You bring guys like that in and he makes your team deeper. Whoever I play with, they’ll be great players and it’s something I’m looking forward to.”
Gaudreau has developed his own scouting report of Neal after playing with him in the NHL All-Star Game.
“I got to know him a little bit,” said Gaudreau, who was teammates with Neal on the Pacific Division squad that beat the Atlantic Division at the 2018 NHL All- Star Game in Tampa, Fla. “We won it all and that was a lot of fun and I got to split the million with him. He’s pretty good friends with Smitty (Mike Smith) and I liked playing with him. I think he’s going to help our team out a lot and I’m looking forward to it.”
Keep in mind that Neal played through a broken right hand during Nashville’s Stanley Cup run in 2017 and was an integral part of the Golden Knights’ overall success last season, bringing the intangible qualities of determination and experience to their dressing room.
That didn’t go unnoticed as far as Gaudreau is concerned.
“He’s been to the Stanley Cup final two times now and obviously hasn’t won it yet, but he’s got that experience,” he said. “He’s an older player. He’s a leader on a lot of teams he’s played on. It’s good to have another player like that here in Calgary. He’s good in the lockerroom, good around his teammates and going to help out the younger guys. And he scores 20 goals every year, so that’s a plus. I’m looking forward to talking to him a little more and get on the ice with him.”
And finally put Treliving’s offseason plan — which saw the Flames hire a new coaching staff along with a pile of new players — on ice.
“This is my first season coming in with this kind of feeling,” Monahan said. “Everyone kind of has the same mindset. This is our year to prove that we are a legit team — a contending team. We have put ourselves in a spot to do that. This is my third set of coaches. Enough is enough. I want to be a big part of this team. I think we have a lot of key pieces, especially some guys we brought in here to help this team do our job. Starting with Gio down, it’s a good-looking team here. I think you just have this feel that this team can do something.”
Whoever I play with, they’ll be great players and it’s something I’m looking forward too.