The Boston Bruins announced tonight that veteran defenseman Hampus Lindholm has suffered a lower-body injury and will not return to their game against the Chicago Blackhawks. While there is obviously no further information on Lindholm’s status beyond that update, it is nonetheless far from encouraging news for one of Boston’s most important players.
It’s especially unfortunate for Lindholm to be forced out of a game due to injury so early in the season given the injury issues he faced in 2024-25. Injuries limited Lindholm to just 17 games played last season, the fewest of any year thus far in his 763-game NHL career. Lindholm is the Bruins’ clear number-two defenseman behind star Charlie McAvoy, averaging nearly 21 minutes of ice time last season including significant time on each of the two special teams. The hope will be that Lindholm’s removal from this game is more of a precautionary measure, and that this lower-body injury turns out to be something relatively minor, as much of the Bruins’ hopes for this season rest on the availability of one of their top blueliners.
Other notes from across the NHL:
- The New York Rangers announced tonight that center Vincent Trocheck would not return to their game against the Buffalo Sabres due to an upper-body injury. While there is no word on the extent of Trocheck’s injury beyond being held out of the rest of tonight’s game, any extended absence would be a signifcant blow to the Rangers. Trocheck is an important all-situations second-line center for the Rangers. Not only does he center star winger Artemi Panarin and play on the Rangers’ first power play unit, he also was the team’s most-used penalty killing forward last season.
- Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin remains out while he recovers from offseason upper-body surgery, though his absence may be coming to an end. Wild coach John Hynes told the media today, including the Minnesota Star Tribune’s Sarah McLellan, that Brodin’s return is “imminent.” Brodin is a veteran top-four blueliner who has battled persistent injury issues over the last few years. Last season, he was limited to just 50 games, and he has not reached the 70-game threshold since 2021-22.