The Boston Bruins' Big Mistake Comes to Light as They Regret Poaching Star Forward from the Vancouver Canucks

As the season winds down in the NHL, it's always interesting to take a look around and see how former Vancouver Canucks fared with their current clubs and for Elias Lindholm, it hasn't been a great year whatsoever.

The Vancouver Canucks and Elias Lindholm's camp were unable to come to an agreement on a contract before July 1st, where he then signed a signed a long-term deal worth $7.75 million annually, with the Boston Bruins.

Lindholm joined the Vancouver Canucks through a trade with the Calgary Flames in January 2024 and while he might have had a slow start with his new team, he began to pick up the pace and was one of their best players in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, registering ten points in 13 games.

As mentioned, Vancouver and Lindholm decided to go their separate ways on July 1st, with the centerman signing in Boston with his Canucks teammate Nikita Zadorov.

To say this season has been a disaster for the Boston Bruins would be an understatement as they're currently in the middle of a ten game losing streak and sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with a 30-37-9 record.

It all started in training camp when the Bruins and restricted free agent goaltender Jeremy Swayman were unable to come to terms on a contract, but eventually they got a deal done in time for opening night.

Boston then fired head coach Jim Montgomery in November, who's enjoying plenty of success now behind the bench in St. Louis and just before the trade deadline, dealt long-time forward and captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers.

That brings us to Elias Lindholm, who's seen a decline in his production during his first season with the Boston Bruins.

After an 82 point campaign in 2021-22, 64 points in 2022-23 and 44 points in 2023-24, the Boden, Sweden native has just 39 points (14 goals, 25 assists) in 76 games.

To put that in perspective, Vancouver's free agent signings from last summer that are still with the club - Jake DeBrusk, Kiefer Sherwood and Derek Forbort - have combined for 43 goals and 88 points.

It's safe to say that Patrik Allvin and the Vancouver Canucks made the right decision not re-signing Elias Lindholm last summer and finding alternatives on the free agent market that have made a positive impact with the club.

Source: Noah Strang/Daily Hive
Vancouver Canucks dodged a bullet when Lindholm rejected their massive contract offer