Bruins Newcomer Showed Makings To Follow In Patrice Bergeron’s Footsteps

The Bruins had lofty expectations when they signed Elias Lindholm in free agency, and he showed Tuesday what he can bring to Boston.

Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic stepped up well last season after Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired. But the B’s lacked a true top-line center and aggressively signed Lindholm to secure one.

Tuesday’s preseason matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers was a test run for Jim Montgomery to see what his top stars could do in game action. While Lindholm didn’t register a point and only had two shots on goal, the veteran center’s little things stood out in the exhibition win at TD Garden.

Lindholm was aggressive on face-offs and on the boards, which the Bruins didn’t do well in the 2024 postseason. He was also effective as the bumper on the power play, something Boston lacked in Bergeron’s and Krejci’s absences. The 29-year-old helped open up spaces for David Pastrnak, giving fans an early look at how the pair will benefit each other.

It wasn’t a perfect game from Lindholm in his 15 minutes of ice time, which he understandably blamed “rust” for since he didn’t practice consistently in training camp. But his ability to play a 200-foot game was what Boston lacked without Bergeron, and it could make him a contender for the Selke Trophy.

Lindholm had 43-1 odds to win the Selke Trophy a week before the start of the season. Reigning winner Aleksander Barkov was the dominant favorite at +175, but Lindholm isn’t a bad long-shot wager. The four-time Selke finalist would need to match his career-high numbers from the 2021-22 season, which was the hope the front office believed Pastrnak could help him do.

There are so many other great two-way centers in the NHL, but Tuesday’s exhibition win showed Lindholm has the ceiling to bring back the Selke to Boston and follow in Bergeron’s footsteps.