The Canucks’ depth at centre wasn’t supposed to be an issue last season. Henrik Sedin, Bo Horvat, and Brandon Sutter took care of the top-three lines, while one of Alex Burmistrov, Markus Granlund, Brendan Gaunce, or the newly-signed Sam Gagner would centre the fourth line.
That depth quickly evaporated. Burmistrov bolted for the KHL after it became clear he wouldn’t get playing time in Vancouver. Travis Green initially liked Granlund at centre, but lost faith in him pretty quickly, while Gaunce rarely lined up in the middle. Meanwhile Gagner ended up being needed on the wing for most of the season. When injuries took out Horvat and Sutter, the Canucks had to call-up Michael Chaput and make a trade for Nic Dowd.
The prospects don’t look much better down the middle next season, apart from, well, two prospects: Elias Pettersson and Adam Gaudette.
Gaudette looked capable in his five-game audition with the Canucks at centre, but Pettersson played most of his SHL season at right wing. If he’s going to play centre at the NHL level, he’ll likely require some seasoning first. Some of that seasoning should probably go on his food, as he’ll need to bulk up a little in order to play at centre.
With Henrik Sedin retiring, the Canucks’ centre depth could use some deepening, so it’s not surprising that when Elliotte Friedman reported the Canucks were looking at a European free agent, it turned out to be a centre.
Friedman reported in his latest 31 Thoughts article that the Canucks are interested in Swedish centre Pär Lindholm, who was fourth in the SHL in scoring this past season with 18 goals and 47 points in 49 games.
Lindholm faced Pettersson in the SHL finals when his Skellefteå AIK faced the Växjö Lakers. While Lindholm didn’t record a point in the four-game sweep — Skellefteå scored just one goal as a team — he had six goals and 11 points in the 12 playoff games heading into the finals.
Lindholm averaged 19:12 per game in ice time and did the bulk of his scoring at even-strength: he was third in the SHL in even-strength points.
The 26-year-old centre is a bit of a late-bloomer. He was never a consideration for the NHL draft as a teenager and didn’t truly breakout until he was 22 and had 42 points in 52 games in the Allsvenskan. A couple solid seasons in the SHL have garnered him NHL interest and it seems like the Canucks have the inside edge.
Lindholm is on the smaller side at 5’11” and 187 lbs (though he is listed at 6'2" according to some sources), but he tends to play bigger than his size and has some skill to go with a decent two-way game. I particularly like this spinning backhand goal.
Lindholm centred Skellefteå’s top line between two former NHLers: Oscar Möller and Joakim Lindström. Neither Möller nor Lindström made much of an impact in their NHL stints. Möller never quite found his scoring touch with the Los Angeles Kings and bounced between the NHL and AHL for a couple seasons before heading back to Sweden.
Lindström, meanwhile, had one decent season with the Phoenix Coyotes in 2008-09, tallying 20 points in 44 games, but mostly played in the AHL. He presents a bit of a cautionary tale for anyone getting too excited about Lindholm: when Lindström was 26, he led the SHL in scoring with 28 goals and 60 points in 54 games.
The Colorado Avalanche took a chance on Lindström, signing him to a one-way, $600,000 contract. He played just 16 games for them, recording five points, and ended up back in the SHL before the season was over.
Lindström is an example of how not every player that puts up points in the SHL is cut out for the NHL.
With the Canucks’ questions at centre, Lindholm could potentially find a spot on the roster. Alternately, he could provide useful depth with the Comets. At no asset cost for the Canucks, there’s little harm in giving Pär Lindholm a look and hoping that he’s...up to par.
