(Photo Credit: Paul Rutherford/USA TODAY Sports)

By: Andrew Bluestein | Follow Me On Twitter / X @adbblue

Elias Lindholm was undoubtedly one of the most sought-after, unrestricted free agents in the office season, and the Boston Bruins inked him. The Swedish center signed a seven-year contract for $54.25 million and will undoubtedly be the team’s number-one center.

Lindholm brings a lot to the table, including offensive creativity, sound positioning defensively, and efficiency on face-offs. However, something he possesses that could pay huge dividends is his ability to complement other players. 

This would bode well for David Pasternak if the two ended up on the same line, which would likely be the case. Last season, the Bruins got strong center play from Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha, who both had career years. However, head coach Jim Montgomery often juggled up the lines, and Pastrnak didn’t have a set center alongside him.

Despite that, the Bruins sniper still posted a line of 47-63-110, exceeding 100 points for the second consecutive season. His 47 goals put him seventh in the league, and it was the seventh time he reached the 30-goal mark in his career. During the 2022-23 season, Pastrnak scored a career-high 61 goals with David Krejci as his primary center. Lindholm has a similar offensive skill set as Krejci, so putting him with Pastrnak could lead to both players having career campaigns. 

Last season Lindholm started the season with the Calgary Flames and was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks before the trade deadline. He finished with a line 15-29-44, which is productive but not near what he posted in the previous two years. In 2021-22, he had the best season of his career, putting up a line of 42-40-82. Having Lindholm center Pastrnak again puts a dynamic player next to him and could increase the numbers for the two forwards. 

Pastrnak is a talented enough player to be productive no matter who his center is. But having a guy like Lindholm to the left of him could take his game to a whole new level. The same applies in reverse, as Lindholm will unarguably be playing with the most talented player he has ever played with. Having both guys on the same line could give the team a huge offensive spark during the 2024-25 season and beyond.