The Bruins signed Lindholm to a seven-year, $54.25 million contract last offseason with the expectation that he would slot in as a true top-line center

Lindholm suffered a back injury late into training camp, which sidelined him for the first part of the preseason. Perhaps as a result of this injury, he struggled and got off to a slow start when the season began. In the team’s first 20 games, he was only able to muster up two goals and seven assists. Part of this can be attributed to the fact that there was a lack of consistency in the Bruins’ lineup as head coach Jim Montgomery shuffled personnel around trying to address the Bruins’ early-season struggles before his firing. It is difficult to adjust to a new team, to begin with, and it is certainly far more difficult when you are playing alongside different faces every game. Despite his offensive struggles, Lindholm was consistently strong on the defensive end of the ice. That said, it would be hard to argue that his play warranted the size of the contract the Bruins gave him.

Late Improvement

Lindholm found his stride later in the season, playing alongside Geekie and Pastrnak, tallying 15 points in the team’s final 17 games. It appeared that the three were developing the chemistry the Bruins had hoped they would find earlier in the season. Lindholm improved in the faceoff circle as well during that stretch; in the team’s final 15 games, he won 58% of the faceoffs he took, a hike above the 46% he won overall on the campaign.

Lindholm’s late-season improvement is a positive sign. It may have been caused by pressure being alleviated after the Bruins sold at the deadline, or that he had gotten over the back injury that may have been lingering at the start of the season. His elevated play could also have just been the result of him finally clicking with his linemates. Whatever it was, Bruins fans should be encouraged that he was able to step up his game, and he will look to carry some of that momentum into 2025-26.

Disappointing Season

It would be sugarcoating Lindholm’s performance to say anything other than that this season was a disappointment. His 47 points are below what the Bruins expected to get out of him, and on the whole, his play earned him a grade of C+ overall. With that being said, his late-season improvement is encouraging. One other positive sign was his performance at the IIHF World Championship, where he played after the conclusion of the season representing his home country, Sweden. In six games, Lindholm scored six goals and four assists, including a hat trick against Slovenia. The Bruins will need him to play better this season than he did in 2024-25, particularly considering that they did not sign a top-six center in free agency. Fortunately, all signs point towards Lindholm stepping up his play and improving on his performance last season.