from Eric Francis of Sportsnet,

Elias Lindholm didn't seem overly interested in trying to convince anyone he might re-sign with the Calgary Flames.

Noah Hanifin was equally as non-committal as Mikael Backlund was a day earlier.

All three arrived at the team’s annual golf tourney on Wednesday, praised the city, the organization and their teammates, and insisted they were excited to start the season.

Their collective message when asked if they'd prolong their stay in Calgary past this season: "We’ll see what happens.”

If it sounded an awful lot like the same script Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk read months before they bolted. And it's because with such a delicate subject, there’s really only one way to answer the media’s leading questions.

By playing along.

Everyone wants to know if there’s still a chance they’ll commit long-term or if GM Craig Conroy will ultimately have to deal them by the deadline.

Optimists will suggest they left that door open.

Pessimists remind everyone how sour Lindholm and Backlund were on returning as they excited Cowtown last spring, and of the summertime reports Hanifin had decided he wouldn’t re-sign.

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