This off-season, the Boston Bruins will be reevaluating their need for a top centerman. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman revealed on the most recent episode of the “32 Thoughts” podcast that, should either player decide to hit the open market, they may target Chandler Stephenson or Elias Lindholm.
Prior to Lindholm’s January relocation to Vancouver, Friedman stated that Boston expressed interest in arranging a trade for him. In order to get Lindholm, the Canucks had to give up top prospect Hunter Brzustewicz and top winger Andrei Kuzmenko, which probably meant Boston was willing to pay a premium for Lindholm’s services.
Given that Lindholm’s negotiations were left out of Vancouver’s leadership exit interviews, they may have another opportunity to lure his camp this summer. With 11 pending free agents and $23 million in salary space heading into the off-season, the Canucks are probably spending heavily on contracts for Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, and Filip Hronek. It will be difficult to hold all three while maintaining their depth because they might all compete for a cap hit of more than $5 million.
This season, Lindholm has scored 44 points in 75 games, which is the fewest points he has scored since joining the Carolina Hurricanes in 2017–18. That decline in scoring was sparked by Lindholm’s relocation to Vancouver, when he dropped from 0.653 points per game with the Flames to 0.462 points per game with the Canucks. Although Lindholm was able to spark his production in the postseason, finishing with five goals and ten points in 13 games, his current season’s performance puts him well short of the $8 million that he was reportedly demanding last summer.
The Bruins, who weren’t afraid to go after Lindholm last summer, should be pleased with this development. It’s easy to understand why they would be keen to add Lindholm’s dynamic offensive approach, as his ability to drive through the neutral zone perfectly complements David Pastrnak’s exceptional wing skills. Chandler Stephenson would be much more of Boston’s “MO,” even though Lindholm offers offensive upside and perhaps a high price tag to match.
Stephenson is an exceptionally gifted centerman with a high hockey IQ who has demonstrated an amazing ability to create opportunities in all three zones.
Considered one of the league’s best two-way centers, he creates more opportunities for his wingers, such as Mark Stone and Jonathan Marchessault, to drive the attack with his strong defense. Even though Stephenson’s skill isn’t on the Selke Trophy-demanding level of his predecessors, his talents would be a good substitute for the years of excellent two-way play of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. Stephenson just finished a four-year, $11 million contract that has evolved into one of the league’s most team-friendly offers. Over the previous four seasons, Vegas’ second-line centerman has essentially cost the franchise $2.75 million in budget space.
Given Stephenson’s meager income, any offer that pays him his market value would represent a significant increase in compensation. When talks come around, that might play in Vegas’ favor, even though the Golden Knights still have less than $1 million in cap space and seven pending free agents, including Stephenson and Marchessault.
If Lindholm or Stephenson are forced to leave their present teams due to financial constraints, the Bruins will not hesitate to take action and probably spend heavily. Though they have about $21 million to re-sign them, Boston has 12 pending free agents of their own, including Jeremy Swayman and Jake DeBrusk. The team may also trade $6 million cap hit Linus Ullmark, a former Vezina Trophy winner, to clear cap space. This season, Pavel Zacha took center stage and excelled. He scored 59 points, a career high, and he and Pastrnak created a tandem that continued into the 2024 World Championship. But as Boston attempted to maintain their momentum in the second round, it was evident that they were lacking an X-factor. Given that Boston has already laid eyes on two of the best names in the market, filling in that missing piece appears to be their primary priority this summer.
