Blackhawks: A Flat Cap Means Salary Cap Changes, But Who?

Hampus Lindholm

Detroit wasn’t the only team wallowing in the depths of the NHL’s standings last year, Anaheim was right there with them. The Ducks were awful and were so bad that they weren’t even involved in the NHL’s return to play. That’s not a prestigious company to be keeping, and the team doesn’t look to be a contender anytime soon.

Perhaps Chicago and Anaheim could be trading partners, and a player like Hampus Lindholm could be a great addition for Chicago. He’s affordable, he’s a consistent contributor defensively, and as of the time of writing this article, he’s only 26.

There aren’t many strikes against him. He’s a decent player on a bad team, but that’s where things become a bit complicated. Even if Anaheim expects to be taking on a full rebuild, Lindholm is probably expected to be around.

His cap hit isn’t too high, and with a flat cap, it probably won’t go up much when he’s due a new deal. He could probably be acquired from the Ducks, but it would be a costlier deal, and Chicago might have to give someone up that they don’t want to part with for short-term gains.

Along with him being more expensive to acquire, he’s not a number one defenseman. Paying a premium for another player that is along the lines of Calvin de Haan or Connor Murphy in regards to quality is maybe not the best option for Chicago right now. He’d still make the team better at an affordable price, so he shouldn’t be counted out.