Hurricanes trade Lindholm, Hanifin to Flames for Hamilton

The Carolina Hurricanes traded forward Elias Lindholm and blue-liner Noah Hanifin to the Calgary Flames on Saturday for defenseman Dougie Hamilton, forward Micheal Ferland, and defenseman Adam Fox.

The deal came to fruition after rumors out of Carolina over the last handful of weeks indicated the Hurricanes were willing to move more than a few of their roster pieces.

Calgary gets a top-five draftee in Hanifin with top-pairing potential. Lindholm, meanwhile, is a serviceable center with the ability to slot into a top-six role while also contributing offensively (he had 16 goals and 28 assists).

Both players are set to become restricted free agents July 1, so Flames general manager Brad Treliving has some more work to do.

As for the Hurricanes' haul, Hamilton is clearly the prized acquisition, as he finished ninth in Norris voting only a year ago. He's coming off a solid season for the Flames in which he registered 44 points in 82 games to go along with an excellent 57.4 Corsi For rating.

Fox is still likely a couple of years away from contributing at the NHL level, but Ferland adds intrigue to the deal as a peripheral piece who can chip in offensively with a timely goal or assist. He put up 21 goals and 20 assists in 77 games last season.