Ah yes, the end of an NHL season is where the truths all come out.
The Boston Bruins were eliminated in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night at the TD Garden. It was an end to a season that not many fans saw coming, a berth in the postseason.
Beginning the 2025-26 season in Year 1 of a retool, the Black and Gold surprised a lot of people by recording 100 points in the standings and the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot. That got them a first-round matchup with the Atlantic Division-winning Sabres. That's still tough to fathom. The Buffalo Sabres won the Atlantic Division.
With the end of the season here, the injuries are coming out of the woodwork. That was the case on Sunday morning at Warrior Ice Arena. It was breakup day for the Black and Gold, and some players were playing through some injuries most of the season. One of those players is center Elias Lindholm, and it is becoming concerning for Boston going forward.
Bruins center Elias Lindholm admitted playing through back injury in 2025-26
After signing a huge contract in the summer of 2024 for seven years with an AAV of $7.75 million, the Bruins were expecting big things from who they figured would be their new No. 1 center. It hasn't happened. You can point to several reasons why it hasn't, but the biggest is a major concern as we move forward.
Sunday, Lindholm admitted that he played most of the season through the same back injury that hampered him last season as well. That is not good.
Elias Lindholm said he is on year 2 of dealing with a back injury that he got the offseason he signed with the Bruins.
— Bridgette Proulx (@bridgetteproulx) May 3, 2026
He said he only felt 100% at the very beginning of the season.
He got at least one back injection during the season. He said he got an injection before…
Back injuries are never good for anyone, but for a professional athlete? It's very bad and concerning. There is very little that GM Don Sweeney can do with the Lindholm's contract. It's not going anywhere, especially with a back injury.
What this does do is compound the fact that the Bruins need to upgrade down the middle this offseason. It's not happening through free agency, as it'll have to happen through a trade. Easier said than done. Whatever happens, beginning next season, there will be a concern for the Bruins with Lindholm and his back. Playing through an injury like that is not something you want for an almost $8 million top center.
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