After an injury-affected first season with the Boston Bruins, center Elias Lindholm is looking forward to a productive 2025-26 season, per Ronnie Rönnkvist of The Daily Faceoff.
Despite playing all 82 games last season, Lindholm revealed during his exit interviews in April that he had been dealing with a back injury since the previous August. The issue caused him to miss time in training camp and limited him offensively throughout the year. After signing a seven-year, $54.25 million contract with Boston last summer, both Lindholm and the team were expecting more than just 0.57 points per game.
“I didn’t get off to a strong start, had problems with my back, and missed the entire camp. To be able to play from the beginning, I had to take an injection, and it took a few weeks before it helped. I couldn’t do anything for a month or two, so I felt behind and had to catch up. It wasn’t a great start, but I hope this coming season can be better,” Lindholm said.
Selected fifth overall in the 2013 draft by the Carolina Hurricanes, Lindholm has long been recognized as a defensively responsible center, earning Selke Trophy votes in five of his 12 NHL seasons, including a second-place finish following the 2021–22 campaign with the Calgary Flames. That same season, he also showcased his offensive potential by recording a career-high 42 goals and 82 points. That is the type of production the Bruins were hoping to get from the 30-year-old native of Sweden. But Lindholm, who noted that last season was full of “distractions,” is confident he can turn things around in year two with Boston.
“We’ve brought in some players, more hardworking types, so the feeling is that we’ve added more of a Boston style to our game,” Lindholm said. “A lot went wrong, but hopefully, things will go better this season and allow us to make the playoffs at least.”