The club pushed the Edmonton Oilers to Game 7 in the second round, and Lindholm was praised for his role as a two-way centre. He had 10 points in 13 postseason games, won 51.2% of his faceoffs, and was on ice for a team-high 10 goals during the run.
The strong playoff performance made many forget how disappointing Lindholm was during the regular season for the Canucks. He had just 12 points in 26 games after being acquired from the Calgary Flames, although he was fighting through injury issues.
The Canucks saw Lindholm’s playoff performance and wanted to re-sign him. The organization was reportedly willing to go as high as $49 million over seven years, but that wasn’t enough to get it done. The Swedish forward eventually signed with the Boston Bruins for $54.25 million over seven years.
While Lindholm’s departure left a hole in the Canucks lineup, the organization dodged a bullet by not bringing him back.
Lindholm’s game has taken a major step backwards this season with his new team. He has just 13 goals and 38 points in 75 games, and 14 of those points have come on the power play.
He’s averaging just 5.68 shots per 60 five-on-five minutes, the lowest number since his rookie season. He has nine total five-on-five assists across his 75 games, the worst mark of his career by far
His defensive impact has also fallen off. He’s the Bruins’ most used forward on the penalty kill, but opponents score 11 power-play goals per 60 minutes when he’s on the ice, the worst mark of any Bruins forward. At five-on-five, the Bruins are being outscored 35-31 during Lindholm’s minutes.
This is just the first season of Lindholm’s seven-year deal. He’s already 30 years old and not getting any younger. This contract runs until he’s 36 years old, and it’s hard to envision him having a positive impact at that time.
While the rising salary cap will make this contract more palatable for the Bruins moving forward, it’s currently an albatross. Since the Bruins are rebuilding, the contract doesn’t hurt them too much at the moment, but it’s not an easy one to deal with.
Unlike the Bruins, the Canucks are trying to contend. If they were carrying Lindholm on a massive deal, it would’ve caused many more headaches. The Canucks are getting better production from players like Pius Suter, who cost a fraction of the price.
If Lindholm had agreed to the $49 million offer the Canucks were reportedly willing to do, this team would look very different. While he was a great contributor in last year’s postseason, Lindholm’s dropoff this year means the Canucks should be extremely thankful he didn’t sign that deal.
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