When Hampus Lindholm signed his contract extension in March of 2022, I had two initial reactions: 1) That will give Charlie McAvoy a steady teammate defensively for the duration of his contract, and 2) I would have preferred less money. I stand by reaction number one, but I was way off with reaction number 2. Since signing his extension, Hampus Lindholm dominated the 2022-23 season, had a significant drop in offensive production in 2023-24, and then missed most of the 2024-25 season due to injury.
While his offensive production in 2023-24 left something to be desired (3-23-26 in 73GP compared to 10-43-53 in 80GP in 22-23), Lindholm's shortened 2024-25 campaign saw him score as many goals as 23-24 in less than 25% of the games. In the games Lindholm played in 2024-25, the Bruins were 8-7-2, a point percentage of .529. Without Lindholm, the Bruins' point percentage was just .446. Obviously, the Bruins sold off assets at the deadline, so there is a level of added context to that .446 number, but let's think hypothetically for a moment.
The last teams in the playoffs in the Eastern Conference last season were the New Jersey Devils and the Montreal Canadiens, each with a point percentage of .555, or 91 total points. Say the Bruins maintained their point percentage of .529 for the full season, forgetting, for the moment, about what that would mean for the deadline. A .529 point percentage equates to 86 points in a full season. The Bruins' rough stretch at the start of the year led to the firing of Head Coach Jim Montgomery just three games after Lindholm's season-ending injury.
Again, this is a completely hypothetical scenario, but what if Lindholm never got hurt? Lindholm doesn't make up for the five-goal deficit to the Dallas Stars on November 14, but the Bruins beat the St. Louis Blues on November 12 on the road with him, and then lost to them on November 16 at home without him. I don't think Lindholm not getting hurt saves Jim Montgomery's job, but I think with him in the lineup, the Bruins make the playoffs.
It isn't just his offensive upside or his veteran presence in the locker room. The only Bruins defenseman with more takeaways per 60 since the start of the 2022-23 season (min. 100 games played) is Mason Lohrei. The numbers also do not do Lindholm the justice he deserves. Take, for instance, the Bruins' preseason loss at home to the Philadelphia Flyers Monday night. The Bruins drew a decent crowd for a preseason game, loud enough that you can't hear every word the players say, but quiet enough that you hear the loud ones. The only player that you could consistently hear out on the ice was Hampus Lindholm.
This, to me, is Lindholm's greatest value to the Boston Bruins: his communication. He is constantly talking out on the ice, and is nearly always strong in his demands for the puck. If you focus away from the puck and just watch how he positions himself in all three zones, and how his head seems to always be moving, it becomes very clear that he is always anticipating what is going to happen next.
With so many uncertainties with this year's Bruins roster, what the B's need is a stalwart on defense, and Hampus Lindholm is just that. If he can stay healthy, this team is capable of making a run to the playoffs.