By: Tom Calautti | Follow me on Twitter @TCalauttis
It’s never easy replacing a legend, let alone two. Following the 2022-23 season, the Boston Bruins saw Stanley Cup champions Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci hang up their skates after spending the entirety of their careers with the organization. Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle did an admirable job filling in for the two stars, but it became apparent last season that in order for the team to compete for a Stanley Cup, they needed an upgrade at center.
Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney is no stranger to Elias Lindholm. On the first day of free agency, he made it clear that the organization has had its eyes on the Swede for a long time. “Way back in the (2013) draft, we identified Elias [Lindholm] as a player that has a lot of [Patrice] Bergeron qualities,” said the GM of his new center.
The organization was rumored to be interested in Lindholm for quite some time, and Sweeney made it clear that when he finally had the opportunity to strike a deal, he was committed to getting it done.
“It’s kind of been a two-year pursuit, to tell you the truth, wondering maybe down the road, if he would ever get to free agency,” said Sweeney. “Had chances at the deadline to maybe get in there, but it didn’t necessarily materialize, so when this was presented, we were very happy.”
Lindholm and the Bruins ended their courtship on July 1st when he inked a seven-year, $54,250,000 contract with an average annual value of $7,750,000. The organization is confident that the 29-year-old brings a particular set of skills that they haven’t seen in a player since Patrice Bergeron.
The organization made a concerted effort this season to get bigger, stronger, and more possession-oriented. “For our liking, we spent too much time in the D zone and not enough in the O zone last year as a team,” said head Coach Jim Montgomery on the first day of training camp. “We’re hoping to be a dominant, physical, offensive team…hanging on to the puck more, spending more time in the O zone.”
The team believes the first step in changing its DNA is the faceoff dot. Fans will remember the struggles of Bruins centers during their first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, when the team won only 177 out of 404 faceoffs, good enough for just 43.81 percent.
Elias Lindholm has spent his career dominating the faceoff dot. Since 2018, he’s only had one season with a winning percentage under 50 (49.3 percent), averaging 53 percent over that time. In his last three seasons, Lindholm has posted percentages of 52.9, 55.7, and 56.4.
“First off, faceoffs,” said Jim Montgomery when asked about what he notices in Lindholm’s game. “Watching him in the summer, the way he beat high-end centers like [Leon] Draisaitl and [Ryan] O’Reilly on big draws in the playoffs…that got us excited.”
The other area the Bruins hope to improve through Lindholm is their powerplay. The team finished 14th during the regular season in powerplay percentage but saw a significant drop-off in the second half of the season. From January 1st until April 18th, Boston ranked 25th in the league with a powerplay clicking at only 18.2 percent.
Throughout his career, Elias Lindholm has been a more than capable producer with the man advantage. An even more enticing fact is that he does most of his damage from the bumper position, an area the Bruins struggled to produce from in Bergeron’s absence. Over the past five seasons, Lindholm is tied for 30th in the league with 40 powerplay goals despite missing 47 games over that span.
Don Sweeney quickly pointed out how much he likes the idea of Lindholm in the Bergeron spot, saying, “I think the bumper spot in our powerplay, you know, is an area that [Lindholm] is going to fit in seamlessly.”
Montgomery echoed Sweeney’s sentiments before training camp when he said, “I just think he gives us more options on power play entries and in-zone. If you leave him alone, he’s going to score…so now you’ve got a lot more killer instinct in the power play and options that the penalty kill has to worry about.”
The biggest question Lindholm will face heading into this season is whether or not he can recapture and improve his point production from last season. The former Selke finalist had a down year in 2023-24 after being traded from Calgary to Vancouver. He struggled with both teams, finishing the regular season with 15-29-44 in 75 games. His production did increase in the playoffs, where Lindholm notched 5-5-10 in 13 games, but there’s no debating that last season was an outlier for an otherwise consistently productive player.
From 2018-2022 (excluding one season where he missed over 20 games), Lindholm averaged 30 goals, 40 assists, 70 points, and nine powerplay goals. The former first-round pick may not be as dynamic a play driver as some other top-line centers, but he’s proven to put up huge numbers when surrounded by talent.
Lindholm has had four seasons in which his linemates’ combined point total eclipsed 100 points. In each of those seasons, he’s put up 27-51-78 (2018), 29-25-54 (2019), 42-40-82 (2021), and 22-42-64 (2022). The plan for this season has him slotting in between David Pastrnak (110 points) and Pavel Zacha (59 points), so there’s both hope and expectation that Lindholm can match his prior career-highs or even shatter them if all goes well.
It’s not as flashy a topic, but we wouldn’t be discussing a Bruins center without mentioning his two-way game. Lindholm has received Selke votes in four of the last six seasons, finishing as high as second in voting in 2021. He has the kind of defensive instincts, competitive style of play, and two-way game that should, in theory, fit Boston’s system to a tee.
The Bruins organization has committed significant financial resources to Elias Lindholm, but if you look at his past and the most prominent aspects of his game, it’s clear why the team has decided to stake their future with him.
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