Last season was the first for Boston Bruins superstar David Pastrnak played without Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci in the lineup with the Black and Gold. Both players announced their retirements in the summer of 2023 leaving a huge hole up the middle for coach Jim Montgomery.
After riding with Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle last season, GM Don Sweeney signed center Elias Lindholm in free agency to be their top-line center. He should solve the Bruins' need for a No. 1 center at even strength and on the power play and Pastrnak compared his new teammate to a couple of former ones.
David Pastrnak compares Elias Lindholm to two former teammates
Pastrnak compared Lindholm to Krejci and Bergeron, a pair of play-making centers who were a big part of the franchise. Signing for seven years with an AAV of $7.75 million, Lindholm and Pastrnak are going to be teammates for years to come wearing the Spoked-B.
"He has a little bit of both (David) Krejci and (Patrice) Bergeron,'' said Pastrnak. "He's a helluva of a two-way player and he has a high hockey IQ. He's a righty and I've played most of my career with a right-handed canterman. I'm really excited to build chemistry whether we play together or not, we'll for sure have some looks 5-on-5 and power play. He's going to be a big part of our team."
You get the feeling that Montgomery is going to end up putting Pastrnak alongside Lindholm and it could have tremendous results for the Bruins. Will he score 60 goals like he did two years ago? Maybe not, but between 40-50 and maybe north of 50 isn't out of the question.
Of course, health is going to be a huge part of the success of Lindholm and Pastrnak together as the former Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks forward already missed Day 2 of training camp. It's likely nothing, but it's certainly something to keep an eye on this season is the health of center No. 1. He has yet to play a game donning the Spoked-B and Boston's best player already has him in some of the best talents the franchise has seen.