Elias Lindholm Excelling in New Role With Bruins

Traditionally, players get worse as they age and this seemed to be the case for Lindholm at this point in his career. During the 2026 offseason, however, Lindholm mentioned that he had been dealing with a nagging back injury for two years, an injury that he suffered during the offseason in which he signed with the Bruins. He also noted that he got a back injection during the season just before heading to the Olympics to compete for Sweden.

This season, Lindholm has looked much more comfortable on the ice and has said that for the first time in a long time, his body feels good. Though he started the season on the top line alongside David Pastrnak and JJ Peterka, he’s most recently been playing on a line with Casey Mittelstadt and James Hagens. The results have been more than favorable for the Bruins, to say the least.

Bruins Getting More From Their Center Depth

Whether it’s a change in role, better-fitting linemates, improved health, or some combination of the three, this lineup change by head coach Marco Sturm is something the team has needed for quite some time. The Bruins have a lot of depth down the middle and realistically, paying Lindholm $7.75 million to play on their third line isn’t the worst scenario in the world.

For one, the team has Pavel Zacha and Fraser Minten playing for $4.75 million and $879,166 in their top six, respectively, this season. The Bruins will have an increase in salary to pay for Minten next season and Zacha’s looming contract is the biggest topic of discussion in Boston sports as of late, but for now their current deals (as well as the rest of the team’s youth movement) are helping the Bruins stay competitive this season. On top of this, the salaries for top-six players in the NHL are going up dramatically and Lindholm’s contract will likely look more like a middle-to-high-end middle-six contract in the coming years than it did when he first signed with the team.

Another underdiscussed storyline about Lindholm’s current place in the lineup is actually specifically linked to Hagens. The seventh overall pick from the 2025 NHL Entry Draft has every opportunity to learn from Lindholm and pick his brain about being a top-six center in the NHL. Though the two may not play the exact same brand of hockey, there’s still a lot of value in Hagens learning from Lindholm, who was one of the better centers in the NHL during his time with the Calgary Flames. Hagens is a key component to the future of the Bruins’ success and the faster he reaches his full potential, the better for the team.

Elias Lindholm’s Strong Start Eases Concerns About His Contract

Another underappreciated aspect of Lindholm’s game this season has been his stellar play at the faceoff dot. In 13 games, Lindholm has won 59.4% of his draws, winning at least 50% in every game so far this season. Winning faceoffs and establishing possession in all three zones is the foundation of winning hockey and Lindholm has excelled in this area thus far, something he’s always done well for the Bruins and throughout his career.

Lindholm will be 32 years old in December and there are obvious concerns about how his deal will look beyond this season. These concerns existed before he signed with the team and they were amplified by his play and his apparent back injury. This season, though, Lindholm has put together a strong offensive season with four goals and 11 points in 13 games. Even more encouraging than that is that Lindholm has been held off the scoresheet just four times this season, meaning his points are coming in a balanced way rather than in spurts that can’t be relied on later in the season.

There’s no telling exactly how the rest of this season will unfold for the Bruins or for Lindholm, but for now, it’s clear that he’s earned his role on the team. It’s been refreshing to see the discussion surrounding him focus more on his contributions than his shortcomings. The Bruins are one of the NHL’s best teams this season by every metric and Lindholm has been as much a part of the team’s success as anyone.