The writing has been on the wall for months that the Bruins have been going to be fishing for a top-six heart this summer time.
Positive sufficient, Boston’s prime splash of the offseason got here shortly after NHL free company formally started on Monday, with the Bruins signing 29-year-old heart Elias Lindholm to a seven-year contract with an annual cap hit of $7.75 million.
Lindholm will add some two-way poise to Boston’s top-six unit, though there are some questions relating to his ceiling as a real top-line pivot — particularly on condition that $7.75 million annual price ticket.
Right here’s 5 issues to learn about Boston’s new heart:
He’s considered one of many prime two-way forwards within the league
Lindholm might not have the scoring contact of Steven Stamkos or maybe the motor of Chandler Stephenson. However the 29-year-old ahead does verify off loads of bins for a Bruins staff that locations loads of defensive accountability on the shoulders of its pivots.
Even with a dip in baseline manufacturing final season, Lindholm has lengthy held courtroom as one of many extra constant 200-foot gamers within the NHL.
In his 11 seasons within the NHL, the previous fifth total choose of the 2013 NHL Draft has surpassed the 50-point threshold 4 occasions — headlined by a breakout 2021-22 marketing campaign in Calgary the place he lit the lamp 42 occasions and added 40 assists over 82 video games.
That 80-point marketing campaign might need been an outlier, as he generated these numbers on a line with two elite playmakers in Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau. Nonetheless, Lindholm needs to be penciled in for 45-60 factors in Boston, particularly if he skates alongside David Pastrnak in a top-line position.
Past his baseline manufacturing, Lindholm’s defensive sport, positioning, and hockey IQ permit him to impression the sport each time he hops over the boards.
He completed second within the voting for the 2021-22 Selke Trophy (behind Patrice Bergeron) for the league’s prime defensive ahead, whereas additionally posting sturdy numbers on faceoffs all through his profession (53.4 p.c).
“I sort of attempt to have a look at Bergeron as a lot as doable,” Lindholm mentioned of his match with Boston. “I don’t wish to evaluate myself or something like that. However I believe I can deliver somewhat little bit of what he did.”
Given Boston’s inconsistent displaying on the dot final postseason, Lindholm ought to shore up that space of the sport, whereas his capacity to close down opposing skaters will come in useful towards what will probably be one other stacked subject within the Jap Convention subsequent season.
Lindholm is coming off a down season
Even along with his sizable pay increase this offseason, Lindholm’s inventory did take successful in 2023-24 with each the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks. After averaging 32 objectives and 73 factors over his remaining two full seasons in Calgary (2021-23), Lindholm was restricted to only 44 factors over (15 objectives, 29 assists) over 75 video games with each the Flames and Canucks this winter.
A few of that dip might need been a byproduct of being a sq. peg in a spherical gap in Vancouver, with the Canucks each shifting him over to wing and later slotting him right down to 3C with each Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller already on the depth chart.
However Lindholm elevated his sport through the playoffs for Vancouver, recording 10 factors over their 13 postseason matchups whereas nonetheless ending the 2023-24 marketing campaign with a career-best 56.4 faceoff proportion.
Even when Lindholm might not be a 40-goal common, a full season subsequent to Pastrnak ought to see Lindholm persistently put up 60 factors or extra, whereas persevering with to bolster the staff’s stingy defensive construction.
“Going into season like that, you’re sort of unsure with what’s going to occur,” Lindholm mentioned of his struggles final season. “And then you definitely sort of know, after somewhat bit that you just’re gonna get traded — however you don’t know when or the place and so forth.
“So it positively affected me greater than I hoped. However I’m glad now that point is over. And now I do know for a very long time the place I’m going to be and so forth.”
He’s not associated to his Bruins teammate
They may share the identical final identify, however Elias Lindholm shouldn’t be associated to present Bruins blueliner Hampus Lindholm. Nevertheless, Boston’s new pivot did obtain a textual content from Hampus encouraging him to affix Boston in free company.
Elias Lindholm does have some familial ties to the NHL. His father, Mikael, performed 18 video games for the Los Angeles Kings in 1989-90, whereas Toronto Maple Leafs winger Calle Jarnkrok is Elias’s cousin.
Lindholm’s presence alone offers Boston choices up entrance
Past his two-way skillset and potential bounce-back scoring manufacturing, Lindholm’s arrival also needs to create a constructive domino impact for the remainder of Boston’s ahead corps.
Boston’s de-facto heart grouping of Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha, Morgan Geekie, and Matthew Poitras all exceeded expectations final season — establishing themselves as key cogs able to transferring the needle and impacting the sport for Boston.
However whereas all 4 of these skaters ought to deliver worth to Boston in 2024-25, it grew to become clear on the finish of final season that at the least just a few of these pivots have been enjoying in roles elevated past their capabilities.
Whereas Poitras was sidelined for the ultimate 4 months of the season attributable to shoulder surgical procedure, each Coyle and Zacha completed with simply two tallies over Boston’s 13 playoff video games — prompting Jim Montgomery to fit up Geekie as a top-line participant towards the Panthers.
With Lindholm presumably locking down the first-line heart place, Boston has the means to both slot Zacha to the wing (the place he’s performed his greatest hockey with the Bruins), and even push Coyle right down to the third line the place he’d be capable of exploit matchups and drive play towards lesser competitors.
The Bruins have coveted Lindholm for a very long time
Lindholm hitting the open market lastly allowed Boston to land the veteran heart on a hefty deal, however this was removed from the primary time that Don Sweeney and his workers have been linked to the defensive-minded pivot.
Boston was tied to Lindholm in commerce rumors earlier this season when Calgary was fielding gives for him — given the Bruins’ evident want for reinforcements up entrance.
However even after Vancouver acquired him on Jan. 31, it was reported that Boston circled again and was fascinated about plucking Lindholm from the Canucks earlier than the commerce deadline in March. It will have been a roller-coaster journey on the transaction wire for Lindholm, with the Canucks reportedly trying to transfer him as a way to attempt to land Jake Guentzel in a blockbuster cope with the Penguins.
Guentzel finally was dealt to the Hurricanes and Lindholm stood pat in Vancouver for the remainder of the season, however Boston did finally get its man simply minutes into the beginning of free company on Monday.
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