Elias Lindholm signed a 7-year, $54.25 Million deal with the Bruins on July 1st, 2024, signing the same day as his former Vancouver Canucks Teammate Nikita Zadorov. Lindholm will bring a consistent veteran’s presence to the Bruins lineup, with this being his 12th year in the NHL, having not missed more than 10 games in a season since his rookie year.
He had 44 points in 75 games played last year, and he made the All-Star team, but it was still a dip in production compared to a few seasons ago, only having 15 goals and 29 assists. During the 2021-2022 season, he scored a career-high 42 goals, tacking on 40 assists. He is projected to start on the Bruins’s top line with David Pastrnak on his right and Paval Zacha on his left. Look for his production to go up this season while playing alongside a great passer in Zacha and one of the best goal scores in the world in Pastrnak.
The Bruins now have a great cache of centers to be the anchors on all three of their top lines. Lindholm will play on the first line, Charlie Coyle the second, and Morgan Geekie and Matt Poitrios potentially being slotted on the 3rd line. Other options like Trent Frederic and Beecher also potentially being bumped up the 3rd line if they develop this season.
Lindholm has garnered some comparisons to former Bruins Captain Patrice Bergeron, high praise when talking about Bruins Centers. I’m not sure Lindholm is on the same level as Bergeron, but you can see the similarities in their games. Hopefully, he can do a great Bergeron impression and help take this Bruins team to a different level than they were at last season.
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