Brutal look at Elias Lindholm’s contract in Boston!

On the opening day of free agency, the Boston Bruins landed two ex-Vancouver Canucks, signing defenseman Nikita Zadorov and forward Elias Lindholm to contracts.

The deal of the latter has stunned many in Boston and across the league, with Lindholm inking a seven-year pact carrying a $7.75-million average annual value. As many pundits and reporters point out, including Josh Wegman of the Score, the risk taken here is high as he names Lindholm as the worst value signing of free agency:

“This is a lot of money for a long time for a player coming off a bad season. It’s an intriguing fit with the Bruins, but this could age poorly if Lindholm can’t regain his old form.”

While Lindholm was one of the top centers available this summer on the market, he struggled this past season, especially after he was traded from the Calgary Flames to Vancouver. He posted just six goals and six assists across 26 contests with the Canucks after putting up nine goals and 23 assists over 49 games with the Flames in 2023-24. He did spark back up in the playoffs, racking up five goals and five assists in 13 games.

Everyone is hoping to see him get back to the 42-goal, 40-assist campaign he had two years ago, and that’s certainly the price that was paid for him in Boston at this time.

It is probably a good thing that he’s on the move from Vancouver seeing that a few weeks after arriving there, rumours had emerged that the Canucks were looking to flip him again.

Lindholm gets a fresh start in Boston, though he has a lot to prove to make fans swallow his big pay check for years to come.