The Bruins have made two gigantic free-agent splashes. They’re bringing in center Elias Lindholm on a seven-year contract worth $7.75MM per season, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reports. Defenseman Nikita Zadorov is also signing with Boston, per TSN’s Darren Dreger. He adds it’s a six-year, $5MM AAV deal for Zadorov.
For Lindholm, it appears he didn’t lose too much market value after a difficult season offensively. The 2022 Selke Trophy finalist was likely in line for an eight-year extension valued in the $8MM-$9MM range annually had he signed while with the Flames at the beginning of last season, but with Calgary not headed in the direction of contention, he opted not to stick around long-term.
He then embarked on a difficult regular season split between Calgary and Vancouver thanks to a mid-season blockbuster deal, limited to 15 goals and 44 points in 75 games with a -14 rating. It was his worst showing on the scoresheet since 2017-18 when he was still a 23-year-old developing center with the Hurricanes.
Lindholm did well to rebuild his value in postseason action with the Canucks, though. They took the eventual Western Conference champion Oilers to seven games in Round Two, and Lindholm’s production was a big part of that. Serving in a middle-six center role behind J.T. Miller, Lindholm found his game offensively and scored five goals and five assists in 13 games.
A strong faceoff taker, Lindholm projects to slot into the Bruins’ first-line center spot and be a stylistic replacement for the retired Patrice Bergeron, although he doesn’t have the same skill level at either end compared to the future Hall-of-Fame pivot. $7.75MM per season is a steep price to pay for someone who only offered middle-six production last season, but they’re hoping it’s just a blip. Now 29, Lindholm has averaged 20 minutes per game multiple times in his career and has a lengthy recent history of anchoring strong two-way top lines.
Zadorov is also a bit of a gamble at his price tag. The 6’6″, 250-lb defender had a strong market, though, and few should be surprised at what he landed in the end. The brutish blue liner had a career-high 120 PIMs in 2023-24, coupled with 20 points and an even rating in 74 games while logging 17:26 per contest. Like Lindholm, he split the campaign between the Flames and Canucks, although they each found their way to Vancouver in separate trades.
It’s a significant chunk of change for a player who’s never spent time in a top-four role consistently, but his price tag suggests he’ll be doing that in Boston for the next half-decade. The 29-year-old could very well start next season on Boston’s top pairing alongside Charlie McAvoy as the replacement for Matt Grzelcyk, who departed for the Penguins in free agency today.
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