Since acquiring Hampus Lindholm in March of 2022, the Boston Bruins have relied heavily on his defensive minutes at the top of their lineup. Overall, he played in 153 games over his first two seasons in Boston.
However, last season Hampus Lindholm was sideline for all but 17 games with a back injury and the team missed him dearly. Boston plummeted in the second half and missed the playoffs entirely. His absence was a significant blow to their depth chart and the defense-first attitude that shaped the franchise over the past few decades.
Similarly, the Boston Bruins hand-picked Elias Lindholm (no relation) to be their top-line center during the 2024 free agency period. Following the departure of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, the B's desperately needed a replacement of any kind. Elias Lindholm's career year happened in 2021-22 with the Calgary Flames, where he averaged a point per game alongside Mathew Tkachuk and the late Johnny Gaudreau.
The Bruins hoped to replicate that spark by putting him on a line with David Pastrnak, but the two rarely played together in 2024-25. Instead, Lindholm went stretches where the scoring dried up, like in January and Febuary when he tallied just 10 points in an eighteen game slate before the Four Nations Break. While it was his first season in Boston, it's fair to assume that the Bruins' brass wished for more consistent offensive production.
If the Boston Bruins are going to return to form in 2025-26, then both Lindholms will need to be key contributors. Thankfully, Hampus Lindholm has looked healthy in Training Camp and will likely be able to give the Bruins significant ice time again. Elias Lindholm has been playing alongisde Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie during the preseason, which is a promising development. Should those three develop chemistry as a group, then Boston will at least have one dependable line in the offensive category.
While it may not be the panacea that makes Boston a Stanley Cup contender iagain n short order, the health and productivity of Hampus Lindholm and Elias Lindholm could go a long way in speeding up this retool.