Calgary Flames trade forward Elias Lindholm to Vancouver Canucks for Andrei Kuzmenko, first and fourth round picks, Hunter Brzustewicz, Joni Jurmo

The Vancouver Canucks have added some secondary scoring with plenty of time left during the regular season.

On Wednesday night, the Canucks put together a trade with the Calgary Flames to acquire Elias Lindholm.

Going the other way is forward Andrei Kuzmenko, a first round and a conditional fourth round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, along with prospects Joni Jurmo and Hunter Brzustewicz.

What is interesting about the trade is that Kuzmenko had the Flames on his no-trade list, which the Russian-born winger waived.

Lindholm was having a solid 2023-24 season, sitting fourth on the Flames in scoring with nine goals and 23 assists in 49 games. The Swedish center was not going make it to the 64-point mark he hit last season, nor is he anywhere near his point-a-game run during the 2021-22 campaign. Nevertheless, Lindholm brings in a scoring touch and playoff experience the Canucks need if they want to be better contenders come the postseason.

Lindholm comes to a team that has two solidified centers in Elias Petterson and J.T. Miller, but it gives Rick Tocchet’s team another asset down the middle.

This is the second time Lindholm has been traded in his career. In June 2018, he, along with Noah Hanifan were traded to Calgary from the Carolina Hurricanes in return for Dougie Hamilton, Michael Ferland and Adam Fox.

In 337 games with the Flames, Lindholm scored 148 goals and 209 assists. In his 792-game NHL career, he has scored 212 goals and 333 assists, along with 17 points in 27 playoff games.

The move is not just helpful for the Canucks, but it could prove beneficial for Kuzmenko. During his rookie campaign last year, the former CSKA Moscow product registered 39 goals and 35 assists. However, the production has not been there so far this season. So much so that he has been a healthy scratch a few times, leading to questions about his work ethic.

A change in scenery might be what Kuzmenko needs to get back on track.

Brzustewicz was drafted in the third round of last year’s draft by the Canucks, and is currently with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. Jurmo is playing in Liiga over in Finland with KooKoo. He was selected in the third round in the 2020 draft.

The Canucks (33-11-5) are coming into the All-Star break tied with the Boston Bruins for the best record in the NHL, and seven points clear of the Vegas Golden Knights for the top spot in the Pacific Division.

The Flames (22-22-5) are sixth in the Pacific, 22 points back of the Canucks, 10 back of the Edmonton Oilers for third, five points back of the last Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.