Entering any given NHL season, a lot of players can be considered “known quantities” to various degrees.
At this point, with a guy like Milan Lucic, the Flames know they’ll be getting a tough winger who can still drive play to a solid extent at even strength while chipping in a point every three or four games. With Elias Lindholm, they have a guy who can really shoot the puck and score around a point per game while playing in all situations.
Somebody like Johnny Gaudreau may be coming off a tough year, but he can still be expected to score a lot of points if he’s at his worst.