Why Bruins’ Elias Lindholm Is Poised For Bounce-Back Season

BOSTON — There was a lot of pressure on Elias Lindholm when he signed a seven-year, $54.25 million contract with the Boston Bruins in the offseason.

Unfortunately for the Original Six franchise, the 30-year-old center’s 2024-25 season did not unfold as planned.

After missing nine days of training camp with an undisclosed injury, Lindholm struggled to find chemistry with David Pastrnak and his own offensive game at the beginning of the season, and was demoted from Boston’s top line.

On Thursday, Lindholm revealed that he had suffered a back injury in early August, which kept him off the ice for most of camp.

“Main reason was probably that I got injured,” Lindholm said at the Bruins’ breakup day at Warrior Ice Arena. “But yeah, definitely, you sign a big contract, you want to perform and deliver.

“It’s been a lot of successful years here (in Boston), and obviously, this year was not as successful. So you kind of put a lot of blame on yourself when you’re here to kind of improve the team. And it went the other way. So, yeah, definitely some pressure, but it’s for everyone. But the main reason was probably the injury, I would say.”

Lindholm did find his groove after the trade deadline when interim head coach Joe Sacco reunited the two-way center with Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie. He tallied six goals and nine assists in the final 16 games of the season, and he finished third on the team in scoring with 17 goals and 30 assists for 47 points.

The way he finished the season should serve as a preview of the player the Bruins and the Black and Gold faithful can expect to see in the 2025-26 campaign. It has certainly motivated Lindholm.

“I was chasing it for a long time there,” he said. “Couldn’t do too much on the ice or off the ice, and felt like I was behind, and tried to get back in shape to play on a high level, but felt like I was behind for a long time. But, yeah, definitely at the end, I started feeling better and started playing better.

“For myself, it was something to kind of put in my back pocket and build off and try to improve the summer and come back and hopefully have a better camp, be healthy and start off where I left, and help this team to play next year.”

While he’s building chemistry with Pastrnak and Geekie, defenseman Nikita Zadorov knows what Lindholm brings every time he steps on the ice. Zadorov and Lindholm played in Calgary and Vancouver together across five seasons.

“He’s a leader, definitely. And you can see, the past what seven, eight games, and they put him with Pasta like he’s been playing,” Zadorov said. “That’s where we expect him. He has some stuff he was dealing with in the year, and there’s no excuses, obviously, but I’ve seen him at his best. I’ve been with him for the past five years, and I know what he can bring, and I know he’s an unbelievable playoff competitor as well … and he’s gonna have a bounce back for sure.”

Zadorov continued: “You guys look at the points, yeah, he didn’t produce points, but you don’t see the stuff. What he does good, face offs, PK, he plays power play. He’s a great complementary player. He’s always in the right position for (defensemen).

“He’s a perfect center to play around. So the stuff kind of gets put away a little bit over his points production, where you guys like to look all the time, but there’s, there’s definitely more game into him, and he what he was. Been bringing it this year, and he’s been helping this team as well.”