Elias Lindholm's career future was dim this past offseason. When Don Sweeney commented on Lindholm's back injury and whether last season's form was the best he could muster, fans reacted poorly. It wasn't just that the team was saddled with the contract, but the man who signed him to the controversial deal was already resigned to the fact that it might've been a mistake. It was a rare moment of what you can call weakness from Sweeney.
Then Lindholm started the year as David Pastrnak's center, and fans put their heads in their hands, wondering how the organization could give the captain such a black hole to play with. Those fans were right: Lindholm as 1C was a disaster from the start.
Finally, Marco Sturm admitted defeat and demoted Lindholm to the third line, and then the jokes started about how bad the contract was and how the Bruins would have to live with it for four more seasons. Even though the Swede performed well in that role early, questions remained about whether the team's second-highest-paid forward should center the third line.
It isn't an easy pill to swallow, but maybe Sweeney was right, and this is just what Lindholm is: a two-way, third-line center who can kill penalties, win his minutes in the bottom-six, and occasionally add his name to the scoresheet. As much as fans want to play the salary game, Lindholm's role has value, and not everyone can do it with this much success.
Elias Lindholm is providing value deeper in Bruins' lineup
The thing is: I don't really care what line you're playing on. If you can be a great penalty killer and be on pace for 71 points like Lindholm is, does it really matter which row you are on when the coach writes the lines in the locker room? The back can act up and bring it all down, but for now, Lindholm might be the team's most valuable forward all around.
I was a bit tongue-in-cheek when I called Lindholm the league's best third-line center in the first game after his demotion, but it's not as much of a joke anymore. He is winning his matchup every night, and the Bruins are 9-3-1, sitting atop the Atlantic Division. You need a deep lineup to succeed in the playoffs, and you can't really argue that the Bruins' bottom six can overmatch anybody in that environment.
Make no mistake: the Bruins will need Lindholm to win this season, and isn't that worth the contract? He is no longer a net-negative, and while it remains to be seen whether he can maintain that for another four years, he is now a valuable piece for Boston.
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