Monday: Lindholm cleared waivers earlier in the day and now Skelleftea AIK has officially announced his signing, indicating that his contract has been terminated by the Boston Bruins. Lindholm’s split from the NHL is no small move either; AIK revealed that his contract is a five-year pact, the remainder of this season and the following four seasons. Lindholm will be 34 years old before he could potentially return to the NHL for the 2025-26 season, likely meaning his time in North America is over after three seasons.
Sunday: The Boston Bruins have placed forward Par Lindholm on waivers today, but likely not for the usual reasons. Having already cleared waivers earlier this season and not in need of a second go-round on the wire, Lindholm’s placement is expected to be a precursor to the termination of his current contract. Swedish news source AftonBladet reports that Lindholm is leaving Boston, who has agreed to his release, and has already come to terms on a multi-year contract with the SHL’s Skelleftea AIK.
There is no doubting that Lindholm’s role in Boston this season has been reduced. Although he was always intended to be a bottom-six depth player when he signed with the club in 2019, Lindholm played in 40 games last season, more than half of the Bruins’ contests. So far this season he has only managed to get into one game, even as the team has dealt with numerous injuries up front. The additions of Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase (who has actually missed most of the season so far) late last season and Craig Smith this off-season have pushed players like Sean Kuraly and Anders Bjork to primarily fourth-line duty. Their roles as top-nine substitutes helped Lindholm get into the action last year. Add in the emergence of Trent Frederic as an NHL regular and Boston’s effort to get other young options like Jack Studnicka, Karson Kuhlman, and Anton Blidh some experience and there has simply been no need for Lindholm so far this year. He is fortunate to have played in even one game, as free agent addition Greg McKegg is still awaiting his debut. If the Bruins stay healthy and Kase returns to action, there isn’t even enough room for both Frederic and Bjork in the lineup, nevertheless Lindholm among others.
Lindholm’s expected departure from the Bruins showcases the difference in mindset between players. He easily could have stayed on in Boston in a taxi squad role and if multiple injuries struck in the bottom-six he may have found his way back into the lineup. Even if that didn’t occur, he could have sat in the press box all season, collecting on his $850K one-way contract, and still may have would up with a Stanley Cup ring given the Bruins’ talented roster. Instead, Lindholm would rather playing consistently and actually contributing to his team’s success, even if that means leaving the NHL altogether. Assuming he clears unconditional waivers, Lindholm will head to Skelleftea and jump right into the SHL stretch run. He is set to join the team currently sitting in fourth place in the league and will skate alongside a number of talented NHL prospects on a young, dynamic Skelleftea lineup. Per AftonBladet, Lindholm is expected to be a major addition and leader for Skelleftea and not only for the remainder of this season, but for “several years”.
Also on waivers today are Montreal’s Paul Byron (link), Detroit’s Danny DeKeyser (link), Columbus’ Gabriel Carlsson, and Carolina’s newly-acquired Alex Galchenyuk. Edmonton’s James Neal has cleared after being waived yesterday.
Darn, I really liked Par. He was never going to do anything in the offensive side but you could always count on him to play steady defense in his own end. Probably saw that he wasn’t going to get much playing barring a lot of injuries.