Hampus Lindholm came to the Boston Bruins on Mar. 19, 2022, with Kodie Curran in exchange for a first-round pick in 2022 (Nathan Gaucher), a second-round pick in 2023 (Damian Clara), a second-round pick in 2024, John Moore and Urho Vaakanainen. In a brief introduction period that season, he had five points in 10 games with a plus-10 rating, with no points in four playoff games.
During his first entire season (2023-24) in the Boston lineup, he was one of the NHL’s top defenders, setting career highs in assists (43) and points (53) while leading the league with plus-43, finishing fourth in Norris Trophy voting. Moreover, the native of Helsingborg, Sweden, played outstanding in the first season of eight-year contract worth $52 million.
Although it seemed that Bruins general manager Don Sweeney fleeced the Anaheim Ducks in the deal for Lindholm, the shine of his best season of 2022-23 wore off in 2023-24. By no means did he become a terrible defender or anything of the sort; it just appeared that he was a passenger on a Stanley Cup-contending team some nights. Instead of leading the play or being a top defenseman, it was a hit-and-miss. Before, you couldn’t miss him on the ice, but this past season, there were stretches where you had to wonder if he was even dressed.
Inside the Numbers: Lindholm’s 2023-24 Regular Season
Lindholm began his second campaign in a Spoked B sweater by being plus-3 in an opening-night win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Despite the team starting the season 8-0-1, he was pointless and minus-2 with eight penalty minutes and just 14 shots on goal (1.55 per game) while averaging 23:47 in ice time.
Report: Bruins 2023-24 Player Grades: Jeremy Swayman
After an unproductive October, Lindholm rebounded in November with five points in 13 games, scoring his first goal on Nov. 14 and had a two-game point streak on Nov. 4 and Nov. 6. He ramped up his shots (1.69), reaching 22 in the month while playing about 20 seconds less a game.
Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last, as the Bruins were 7-3-3 in December, with Lindholm chipping in just four points on the team’s 40 goals that month. He didn’t light the lamp himself but earned four assists, including two in a New Year’s Eve contest with the Detroit Red Wings. He finished this 13-game stretch as a minus-3 with just 15 shots on goal, his lowest shot attempts of the season at that point, 1.15 a game.
As Lindholm’s up-and-down season continued into January, he had 10 points (all assists) in 14 games, finishing as a plus-14 with ten penalty minutes. After skating over 24:32 minutes a game in the previous month, he witnessed a slight reduction (1:29) a night, resulting in only 11 shots on goal, equivalent to .78 shots a game.
After the All-Star Game break, he was pointless in the seven games from Feb. 6 to Feb. 19 before suffering an injury against the Dallas Stars that kept him out of the lineup for almost a month, returning to action on Mar. 9. In his absence, the Bruins went 4-1-4, scoring 28 goals and giving up the same. Before his injury, Boston was 33-12-11 (including the Stars contest) with a goal differential of plus-39.
In the final 17 games of the regular season, Lindholm scored two goals with five assists for seven points and a minus-1 rating. He collected an additional 11 penalty minutes with 28 shots, which equaled 1.64 a game. However, it was clear that whatever bothered him lingered for the rest of the season as his ice time dipped to 21:55, some of the lowest totals of his young Bruins tenure.
In the end, he played 73 games, scored three goals with 23 helpers, and had 26 points, less than half of the 53 he had scored the previous season. Lindholm was only plus-18, a drop of 25 in that category, while Boston dropped from a goal differential of plus-128 to just plus-43 in 2023-24.
Lindholm’s Jekyll and Hyde Stanley Cup Playoffs
Lindholm had four points against the Toronto Maple Leafs, with an assist in Games 1 and 3, helping the Bruins build up a 3-1 series lead. Between Games 4, 5, and 6, he was minus-1 with no points, with just two shots. However, his playoff moment occurred in Game 7 on home ice at TD Garden. Down 1-0 to the visitors after William Nylander scored at 9:01, Lindholm fired home a shot at 10:22 to tie the contest and send the Bruins faithful into a frenzy. It was a crucial goal that gave Boston hope they could close out their rivals in a relatively quiet contest up until the Nylander goal.
Related: 4 Bruins Trades That Shaped Their 2024 NHL Draft Position
In overtime, Lindholm broke out of the zone and, on a set play, dumped the puck into the corner that bounced right out in front for a streaking David Pastrnak to bury home the game-winner, sending the Bruins into the next round. As great as those two moments were, it was the last time Lindholm would find the scoresheet in the playoffs, going pointless in a six-game loss to the Florida Panthers. Despite being plus-1 in the series, he had more penalty minutes (six) than shots (five) and averaged 22:21 a night. Like the previous season, the Panthers just shut the Bruins down, and their game breakers didn’t have the answers to break through.
Final Grade
Lindholm finishes the season with a B- grade. Although he did not have the same impact as Ullmark (B-) in keeping the team at or near the top of the Atlantic Division, his dramatic drop in production was also offset by an extended stay on injured reserve, and his off nights were absorbed by the rest of the lineup.
Related: Bruins 2023-24 Player Grades: Linus Ullmark
Unfortunately, with five streaks of five or more games without a point, Bruins fans wonder if Lindholm is worth $6.5 million. Unlike the 2022-23 season, when he took the fanbase on a magical ride, he regressed to his career averages of 27.8 points, 21.4 assists, and a plus-13 rating. Those are all solid numbers for a top-four defenceman, but Lindholm is the second-highest-paid defender on the team behind Charlie McAvoy and makes the third most money behind Pastrnak and McAvoy.
Even though duplicating his statistics from a season ago may not be realistic moving forward, Lindholm will perform better and restore the faith of Bruins fans, who would love to see him be slightly more noticeable in 2024-25.
What’s Next for Lindholm and the Bruins
Sweeney inked Lindholm to a lengthy extension on Mar. 20, 2022. He’s got six seasons left, and if he remains healthy and plays out the remainder of his deal, he’ll hit free agency in the summer of 2030 at 36. For the next three seasons, he has a no-movement and no-trade clause, downgrading to a modified no-trade clause in the summer of 2027. Hopefully, the Bruins window for contention remains open with Lindholm on the blue line. If, for some reason, the wheels fall off between now and then, he could be up as top trade piece sometime down the line.
