The Negotiator: Can the Ducks afford to lose Hampus Lindholm?
Fourth in a season-long series of “The Negotiator,” where we’ll tap into the front office experience of Daily Faceoff‘s Steve Greeley, who most recently served as assistant general manager of the Buffalo Sabres.
It’s been a tumultuous week for the Anaheim Ducks, with GM Bob Murray resigning after nearly exactly 13 years at the helm to enter an alcohol abuse-related program after an investigation revealed “improper professional conduct.”
Enter Jeff Solomon as Anaheim’s interim GM. Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli said in a statement this week that they will begin a thorough search for a permanent GM to be completed “by next summer.”
That statement would allow the Ducks to pursue an external candidate in the offseason if he is currently working with another club.
Until then, this is an absolutely critical season in Anaheim’s rebuild process.
Hampus Lindholm, Josh Manson and Rickard Rakell are all pending unrestricted free agents. If they aren’t going to be re-signed, it will be up to Solomon and his experienced staff, including assistant GMs Dave Nonis and Martin Madden, to pursue significant returns before the March 21 trade deadline.
Solomon, 63, is well qualified to navigate Anaheim through the process. He’s spent the last 35 years on both sides of the table – as both an agent and then with the Los Angeles Kings as their salary cap and contracts expert.
The question is: Can the Ducks afford to lose Lindholm?
Hampus Lindholm
Team: Anaheim Ducks
Position: Left Defense
Age: 27
Career: 536 GP, 53 goals, 152 assists, 205 points, plus-77 rating, 22:08 ATOI
Last Season: 18 GP, 2 goals, 4 assists, 6 points, minus-1 rating, 22:02 ATOI
This Season: 15 GP, 1 goal, 4 assists, 5 points, plus-3 rating, 22:05 ATOI
Current Contract: Final year of 6-year, $31.5 million deal ($5.25 million AAV)
Analysis:
One of Solomon’s first large assignments as the interim will be figuring out what to do with Lindholm. Lindholm does not own any trade protection and could net a large return if moved at the deadline. Over the last three seasons, Lindholm has not brought a high-end offensive game to the table but he is a strong defender that is capable of playing against top competition. He’s an enormous part of their defense corps.
As an elite skater who has consistently logged major minutes, Lindholm’s agent will likely be looking on the higher end of his comps – and as expected, the team will be searching for what they see as a fair long-term number that accounts for their projected age-related decline as the contract and player age.
Lindholm’s 2020-2021 season was cut short due to a wrist injury and his points per game was below his career average. Rewinding back to the 2017-2018 season, Lindholm looked like was ready to take a big step offensively as he produced 13 goals and 18 assists finishing with a career high 31 points in just 69 games. If in 2021-2022 Lindholm could provide the Ducks with a full season that sees a resurgence in his offensive production, we could expect a big pay raise. Unfortunately for Lindholm, the start to the year has only produced five points in the first 14 games.
What Lindholm may lack in offensive flash, he does make up for with his strong two-way game and I would expect several teams to be calling Solomon as he embarks on his first few days as Interim GM. One thing is for certain and that is that the Anaheim Ducks will want an extension in place before the deadline or Lindholm maybe switching jerseys before March 21. Given where they are in their rebuilding process, it’s inconceivable that the Ducks would roll the dice and let Lindholm play out his contract in Anaheim without getting anything in return.
Lindholm will be looking for a raise over his current AAV of $5.2 million and he will likely be pointing out that he often plays more minutes than teammate Cam Fowler ($6.5 million AAV).
Comparables: Hampus Lindholm, LD, Anaheim, Age 27, .38 ppg (career)
Potential Agent Asks:
Cam Fowler, LD, Anaheim, Age 25, .44 ppg (career), 8 years x $6.5 million = $52 million
Justin Faulk, RD, St. Louis, Age 27, .43 ppg (career), 7 years x $6.5 million = $45.5 million
Potential Team Asks:
Josh Morrissey, LD, Winnipeg, Age 26, 0.38 ppg (career) – 8 years x $6.25 million AAV = $50 million
Jonas Brodin, LD, Minnesota, Age 27, 0.28 ppg (career) – 7 years x $6.00 million AAV = $42 million
Adam Pelech, LD, N.Y. Islanders, Age 26, 0.25 ppg (career) – 8 years x $5.75 million AAV = $46 million
The Negotiator Projection: 8 years x 6.25 million = $50 million
For more from The Negotiator, check out the other player payday files on Daily Faceoff:
New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox
Calgary Flames winger Johnny Gaudreau
Dallas Stars defenseman John Klingberg